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No. 65 · Risk · Human Nature and Judgement

Resilience

Setbacks are certain; collapse is not, if you prepare to recover.

Resilience is the ability to bounce back and adapt in the face of adversity. It isn't about avoiding hardship, but absorbing the blow and finding a way forward, as Shackleton did when he brought all his men home from Antarctica, or Maersk did rebuilding its network in about ten days.

To use it, build backups before you need them, invest in routines and relationships that steady you, and keep a financial cushion. Remember that resilience needs rest too.

In the Almanac

“Shackleton’s Endurance”, 1915–1916 · “Maersk”, 2017

Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.

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Resilience

Questions

What is Resilience?

Resilience is the ability to bounce back and adapt in the face of adversity. It isn't about avoiding hardship, but absorbing the blow and finding a way forward, as Shackleton did when he brought all his men home from Antarctica, or Maersk did rebuilding its network in about ten days.

How do you use Resilience?

To use it, build backups before you need them, invest in routines and relationships that steady you, and keep a financial cushion. Remember that resilience needs rest too.

When does Resilience matter?

Resilience is one of the 32 mental models for risk, the situations where you ask: What could go wrong, and what will I do if it does? Within that, it belongs to “Protecting yourself”, alongside Antifragility, De-Risking and Margin of Safety.

What is an example of Resilience?

Two stories show it at work: Shackleton’s Endurance (1915–1916) and Maersk (2017). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.

Which mental models are related to Resilience?

Antifragility, Self-Preservation and Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset. Resilience itself comes from human nature and judgement.