Theme
of Zoom Meeting: Resilience
©2021
by Richard E. Gordon Duplication prohibited without author’s permission.
Last updated: September 15, 2021 email: rgordon118@tampabay.rr.com
For several questions, I have provided underlined links that will take you to related online information. Try coming up with your own thoughts first – then investigate the links or ignore them – whatever you wish.
If the links don’t work with just clicking your mouse arrow, hold down your Ctrl key as you click. Any problems with a link please let me know: rgordon118@tampabay.rr.com
Before our meeting, perhaps take the time to check off the questions and quotations you would like to comment on. I’ve deliberately included far more questions and quotations than we can cover in our meeting time. Our conversation can just focus on those items you select.
Questions
1. What do you think resilience means?
2. What is the opposite of resilience?
3. Can you unscrambled the italicised two words to see the difference between being persistent and being resilient? “Difference between persistent and resilient is that persistent is obstinately rfesugin to give up or let go while resilient is able to endure tribulation without cringack.” (adapted from this link)
1. What are the components or ingredients of resilience?
2. How important is resilience to having a happy life?
3. Do you think that genetics or environmental factors nourish resilience? What flower might symbolize resilience? What flower might symbolize fragility?
4. Can parents teach their children to be more resilient?
5. Should educators try to teach resilience to their students? How might this teaching be accomplished?
6. How can you learn on your own to be more resilient? Just as you can use weights to strengthen your physical muscles, what strategies might you use to strengthen your resilience?
7. How might someone be able to inspire resilience in others?
8. Without giving away the person’s identity unless she/he is a public figure, tell us about someone you knew who showed great resilience?
9. What kind of life experiences can help a person gain great resilience?
10. How can you be resilient in everyday life? In your job? In a social or religious organization you belong to?
11. What are some images or photos that come to mind when you think of resilience? Are most of your images female or male? White or black? Non-human symbols like a nation’s flag or a giant oak tree swaying in a hurricane wind?
12. If you were an army captain, would you prefer that your soldiers are resilient or brave?
13. Give examples of great leaders who personified resilience?
14. In the 20th Century, how did our Nation show resilience? How is our Nation’s resilience now being tested?
15. Has your resilience changed over your life time? What caused the change?
16. Why might we think that women are more resilient than men? Or men more resilient than women?
17. How can your imagination help you to become more resilient?
18. How has our discussion today affected your view of resilience?
Quotations
1. “Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.”― Angela Duckworth
2. “Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems.”― Gever Tulley
3. “The difference between a strong man and a weak one is that the former does not give up after a defeat.”― Woodrow Wilson
4. Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” –Nelson Mandela
5. “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” –Helen Keller
6. The behavioral component of resilience enables people to remain effective at home and work, able to focus on relevant tasks and goals and carry them out. -- Ivan Robertson and Cary Cooper
7. “Resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive.” -- Jamais Cascio
8. “Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it's less good than the one you had before.”Elizabeth Edwards
9. “It's one thing to show your love for someone when everything is going fine and life is smooth. But when the 'in sickness and in health' part kicks in and sickness does enter your lives, you're tested. Your resilience is tested.” -- Patti Davis
10. “Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving; we get stronger and more resilient.” – Steve Maraboli
11. “The oak fought the wind and was broken, the willow bent when it must and survived.” – Robert Jordan
The End