By Rand O’Leary

I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it. – Maya Angelou

If there's one thing that 2020 has definitely called for, its resilience. We're living in turbulent times and COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of American life – from health to work to childcare to education and even exercise. Add to that a fragile economy, a smattering of natural disasters, and widespread political and racial unrest, and you've got all of the ingredients needed to keep most people in a state of near-constant stress. The concerns and events of 2020 have been even more profound for essential workers, especially those in healthcare settings.

According to Psychology Today, resilience is the quality that allows some people to be knocked down by these stressors and come back at least as strong as they were before. "Rather than letting difficulties, traumatic events, or failure to overcome them drain their resolve, highly resilient people find a way to change course, emotionally heal, and continue moving toward their goals."

The good news is, resiliency can be learned, and you can come back from obstacles, stress, and other environmental threats. While some people are far better than others at dealing with adversity, George Bonanno, a clinical psychologist at Columbia University's Teachers College contends that, "all of us possess the same fundamental stress-response system, which has evolved over millions of years and the vast majority of people are pretty good at using that system to deal with stress." 

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