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BY COL. STEPHEN MESSENGER
Commander, Fort McCoy Garrison
My dog is anything but resilient. He has latched onto both my daughter and wife, and when they’re out of the house, he’s at a low point in life. His eyes and ears droop. His tail drops right between his legs. He won’t play. His world has ended, simply because two humans are temporarily absent.
Now, I try to cheer him up. I offer tennis balls, walks, and belly rubs. But he’s completely resigned to the fact that life is terrible, and nothing will convince him otherwise (except food — he’s always up for food).
Occasionally, I see people acting the same way. A temporary life event causes them immense pain and they go into a deep, dark funk that no proverbial piece of bacon could cure. They retreat into their own world and sulk in thoughts of what could have been and not what could be.
It’s human nature, and I’ve been there myself. Life events have overcome me, and I struggled to respond appropriately. But when in a leadership position — be it at work, home, or elsewhere — all eyes are upon us, and we must show resiliency to our followers.
Highs, lows of life
It’s not a matter of if attacks will come, but when. After all, if there were no problems, we wouldn’t need someone in charge.
George Washington knew this well. His life was full of veritable highs and lows — mostly lows — during the Revolutionary War. He started out on a high being appointed General of the Army, considered a hero to the people, and drove the British out to sea after the Battle of Bunker Hill. But it quickly went south.
The British landed on Long Island, driving the young American forces back to New York City. Washington ordered a night retreat across the Hudson and was chased out of New York and New Jersey. The British subsequently seized the capital of Philadelphia.
In the winter of 1777, Washington limped his Army into a frigid Valley Forge. His performance was lackluster, there was a shortage of supplies, disease ran through the camps, blizzards have arrived, and he had limited funds. Accordingly, some members of the Continental Congress were calling for his removal due to incompetence. George Washington’s personal and leadership identity should have been as low as the Pennsylvania temperatures.
It would have been easy for him to give up, as not much was going well at this point. Yet George Washington knew he had to be resilient to weather the storm and lead his nation during a perilous time. Luckily, he had a plan to thrive.
Holistic health and fitness
The U.S. Army talks about resiliency through their Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) program. They leverage five domains of holistic health: physical, mental, spiritual, nutritional, and sleep. I would argue two additional domains of relationships and finances add to our ability to counter the attacks on our lives.
To be resilient, we must all be grounded in these seven qualities by developing plans today. By strengthening our lives across these areas, we can bounce back from life’s hardships and lead our people effectively. It’s important to be prepared now for the crisis tomorrow. Create action plans in each of these areas.
– Physical. We have to take care of our bodies. I’m not saying we must be an elite Cross Fitter or Ironman Triathlete, but take a walk, get to the gym, or exercise in a fun way. Physically fit leaders stand up to stress better because our bodies can withstand more pressure.
– Mental. This readiness is the ability to think better in times of adversity. Mentally ready leaders have less thought errors during stress. We prepare through continuous learning. Take classes, solve puzzles, read and write, learn a new skill, and challenge your brain in fun ways.
– Spiritual. H2F states this is the ability to endure and overcome times of stress by making meaning of life’s experiences. Spiritual readiness comes from prayer, meditation, quiet time, reading scripture, and finding a larger meaning in life besides just us.
– Nutritional. I’ve really focused on eating better since January and have seen a huge life change. I don’t have a ton of advice here except to cut out junk and replace it with something healthier like fruits and vegetables. Start small, grow bigger, and see the difference!
– Sleep. As with nutrition, my journey since January has seen tremendous effects. I now get over seven hours of sleep every night, up from six or less, and wake up feeling a tangible difference. This is another one that we can change overnight (pun intended) by committing to go to bed earlier.
– Relationships. Family and friends add resiliency through solid relationships, trusted partners, and the ability to vent to someone. We must have a life outside of work, be it hobbies, sports, reading, or any other way to decompress. Doing this with loved ones allows us to remember what’s truly important.
– Finances. Finally, being secure in our finances adds resiliency to our lives. I’m not saying we have to be rich, but we should be living debt-free, within our means, and with a security blanket to provide personal safety in times of need. We all must make sure our finances are in check and have a plan for the future.
Pillars of resiliency
Being secure across these seven pillars provides leaders mental toughness, physical fitness, relational foundations, spiritual bedrock, and financial stability. By planning to be strong in these areas, we can face trials and tribulations easier.
The painting, “The Prayer at Valley Forge” depicts George Washington alone in prayer. According to the journal of Nathaniel Snowden, he heard a story from Isaac Potts, who was eyewitness to Washington kneeling in the snow offering prayer for his suffering Army and fledgling nation.
George Washington refused to allow the chaos around him to break his generalship. If so, he would have been a leadership mess in front of his Army.
In Washington’s case, he flipped the script in times of crisis to where instead of breaking, he stood on his resiliency plan through the love of his wife Martha and his country, his mental endurance, his exceptional fitness, and his trust in God. Through this, he was able to maintain a positive identity and lead his army out of Valley Forge, stronger than when he arrived.
Unfortunately, my dog will never be as resilient as our first president; it’s too much to ask for him to plan things out. But we’re all able to look across the full spectrum of holistic health and fitness to make plans in each area for future resiliency. The more we can become personally resilient, the more our people can look up to us and do the same.
| Date Taken: | 06.25.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.25.2024 16:43 |
| Story ID: | 474831 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 102 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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