Key ideas
Prepare for adversity in its many forms and strengthen your capacity to bounce back
- We've all heard stories of human resilience in the face of the most incomprehensible suffering. The perseverance of those who came before us is part of our shared story. Further, their resilience forms a crucial part of our cultural DNA.
- But it's not just in these kinds of extremes that resilience matters. Life is rarely easy. Adversity and setbacks will always be a part of human existence.
- The field of sustainable development seeks to improve the conditions of our communities, the ecosystems that sustain us, to guarantee human rights for oppressed or marginalized people. These goals are not easily achieved.
- It helps to have a toolkit to prepare for adversity in its many forms and to strengthen our capacity to bounce back. The rest of this series will explore ideas from Buddhism, Stoicism, psychology, and ecology to uncover different ways to fortify our resilience.
Transcript
Welcome to the Project Indra podcast, where we explore the best of ancient wisdom and modern knowledge to help leaders tackle humanity's wickedest problems. Each episode looks at practices, contemplations, or tools that help people live better lives and make a positive impact.
My name is Ryan Thompson. This podcast combines many things I love: teachings and insights that have inspired and informed me over the years and have empowered me to be better in my work and family life. I believe that no single approach can solve all problems. With this in mind, this podcast brings together my spiritual practice, personal areas of study, and my professional life in sustainable development. I will share some of the things I've learned and continue to learn every day from Buddhism, Taoism, Greek and Roman philosophies, and other ancient traditions. I'll also explore some ideas from modern sciences like psychology, neuroscience, ecology, and conservation. Each of these perspectives have a lot to offer those who want to make a contribution. So for all the impact leaders out there, both seasoned and aspiring, this podcast is for you. I hope that some of this will be of benefit.
This is the first Project Indra podcast, and the first episode of a series that will explore a question that keeps coming up in this crazy and chaotic era of Covid: How do we make it through hard times? Beyond just making it through, how can we learn, grow, and become even better people by overcoming adversity? How can we use this growth to make a positive impact on the world around us?
This episode and the series that follow are all about resilience.
We've all heard stories of human resilience in the face of the most incomprehensible suffering. I think of the Great Depression, with the whole world in the grip of poverty, countless people struggling to find work and food. I think of the generations of Black Americans undergoing so much adversity and abuse throughout the history of America, striving for freedom but denied it at every turn. I think of the Tibetan people, fleeing from the Chinese invasion, trekking across the perilous peaks of the Himalayas to find safety and refuge.
The perseverance of those who came before us is part of our shared story. Further, their resilience forms a crucial part of our cultural DNA.
But it's not just in these kinds of extremes that resilience matters. Life is rarely easy.
Adversity and setbacks will always be a part of human existence. We all will face hardship at some point in our lives. We all experience loss, failure, or simply getting crapped on from time to time.
The field of sustainable development seeks to improve the conditions of our communities, the ecosystems that sustain us, to guarantee human rights for oppressed or marginalized people. These goals are not easily achieved. Programs fail, funding dries up, leaders betray their causes and the people they are supposed to serve, or disaster strikes.
It certainly helps to have a toolkit to prepare for adversity in its many forms and to strengthen our capacity to bounce back.
The rest of this series will explore some perspectives and practices from various traditions that could be part of your toolkit. First, we'll look at the teachings of the Buddha, followed by a look at the ancient Stoics. Next, we'll examine some more modern insights from Viktor Frankl's logotherapy and then explore some ideas from modern neuroscience. Finally, we'll take a totally different take on resilience, looking at it from the lens of ecology.
Most of these ideas are not new. Greater minds than mine have shared these practices and perspectives for millennia and continue to produce great insight. Yet, even though they’ve been around a long time, it doesn’t mean that we have collectively learned these lessons. I'm working on it myself, and I hope that some of these perspectives might help you as well.
Ok, that's all for now. If you find this interesting, be sure to subscribe to check out more episodes. And please share this podcast with a friend if you think it would be helpful to someone.
Until the next time, be well!
Podcast soundtrack credit:
Our Story Begins Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/