Resilience gets thrown around in regard to kids enduring their parents’ divorce or the internal ability to recover after a person’s walk thru hardship. It’s also boring and non-inspiring. Who really cares if a person struggled then was able to get back to where they were? Where is the true success story in that?
What fascinates me is the person who is able to undergo hardship, then returns to not only themselves but a better version, a 2.0 version. The human body isn’t simply resilient. It’s interesting that the human body, by design and given an optimal working body, can not only undergo an illness but can adapt to that illness, fight it and become stronger. Chicken Pox, as an example. When I was a kid is was almost a passage of right to get Chicken Pox. Once you got it, you were good! Generally, you wouldn’t have to worry about getting it again because you’ve already gotten it. That’s not resilience. That’s adaptation and growth. That is not only getting back to where you were but becoming stronger so that specific adversity, Chicken Pox, could not affect you again.
A rubber band is resilient. You pull it down then it snaps back to where it started. Big deal. I don’t want to be a rubber band. I want to grow and get better from every adverse event I experience. One thing I’ve learned is that although the human body has the ability to grow from adversity, it’s not the entire human body. Our brain is the epicenter of choice. Our body fights an illness automatically. We didn’t make a decision to do that, it simply happens. When it comes to emotional and psychological adversity we are completely in control. Been through a bankruptcy, divorce, death of loved one, abuse? Struggle with PTS from military service or EMS? Though those may have physical repercussions, that our body typically heals from, it’s the mental aspect that causes a person to get stuck. That’s when the person is in charge, in control, and has to make a choice. You can either choose to be a victim of said circumstance or choose to accept that you were victimized and have recovered from that. Because of that experience, typically, a person is stronger and better than before the event. They gain experience which begets wisdom. They are now stronger. With that rationale, a person who experiences many adversities or traumas in life and chooses to not carry those with them, and instead chooses to chalk them down as experiences, becomes an unstoppable force. “That which does not kill me makes me stronger” becomes their credo.
The person who has walked the path of not only overcoming adversities but also welcomes adversity because of their life’s experiences is not only resilient but a conquerors. I found a word that may define the process of becoming better because of the valleys a person endures. Robustification. Thriving and being able to endure hardship may be a step above resilience. If resilience gets us back to where we were and thriving is us punching thru our previous glass ceiling, then maybe robustification may be the process of being better than we were before the adverse experience. Robustification is a word I found having this conversation with AI. The following is what Grok had to say on this topic.
Me: If resilience is being able to return or to bounce back, what is better than resilience?
Grok: If resilience is the ability to bounce back or recover from challenges, something “better” than resilience might be **antifragility**. Coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb, antifragility goes beyond merely returning to a previous state—it describes a quality where a system, person, or entity actually improves, grows stronger, or thrives as a result of stress, chaos, or adversity.
While resilience implies durability and the capacity to withstand pressure without breaking, antifragility suggests adaptability and growth through that pressure. For example, a resilient person might recover from a setback to their original state, but an antifragile person would use the experience to become more capable, creative, or robust than before. Think of muscles that grow stronger after being stressed by exercise—that’s antifragility in action.
Would you like me to dig deeper into this concept or explore another angle?
Me: Dig deeper
Grok: Let’s dive into antifragility and why it might outshine resilience. Nassim Taleb introduced the idea in his book *Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder*, and it’s a fascinating leap beyond traditional notions of strength or recovery. To understand it fully, picture three categories: fragile, resilient, and antifragile.
A **fragile** system breaks under stress—like a glass dropped on the floor. It hates volatility and unpredictability. A **resilient** system, on the other hand, endures stress—like a rubber ball that gets squashed but pops back to its original shape. It can handle disruption without collapsing, but it doesn’t fundamentally change or improve. Then there’s **antifragile**: this is like a hydra from mythology—cut off one head, and two grow back. It doesn’t just survive disorder; it feeds on it, getting better, stronger, or more adaptable as a result.
What makes antifragility “better” than resilience is its proactive relationship with uncertainty. Resilience is defensive—it’s about holding the line. Antifragility is offensive—it’s about capitalizing on the cracks. Take evolution as an example: species don’t just bounce back from environmental pressures; the survivors adapt and evolve into something more suited to the new reality. Or consider a startup that fails fast, learns from its mistakes, and pivots to a more successful model—resilience might keep it afloat, but antifragility turns the failure into a springboard.
Taleb argues that antifragility thrives in domains with high variability and randomness. Think of the immune system: exposure to pathogens doesn’t just return it to baseline—it trains it to be more effective against future threats. Contrast that with an overprotected system, like a child raised in a sterile bubble—resilient maybe, but fragile when finally exposed. Antifragility requires stressors, even failures, as fuel for growth.
Practically, antifragility often shows up in decentralized or organic systems. A top-down bureaucracy might be resilient until it hits a crisis it wasn’t designed for, then it cracks. A network of small, independent farmers, though? One fails, and the others learn, adapt, and cover the gap—stronger overall. It’s why Taleb praises things like trial-and-error over rigid planning, or redundancy over efficiency.
The catch? Antifragility isn’t always comfortable or intuitive. It demands embracing messiness, risk, and the occasional bruise—things resilience might try to avoid. But the payoff is a system or person that doesn’t just recover—they reinvent.
Want to explore how this applies to something specific, like personal life, business, or even nature? Or should I unpack Taleb’s take further?
Me: What would be a synonym or better word to explain this than antifragility?
Grok: Antifragility is a tough concept to pin down with a single synonym because it’s so distinct—combining growth, adaptability, and a love for chaos in a way most words don’t. But if we’re looking for something close or even “better” at capturing its essence, here are a few contenders, along with why they might work:
1. **Thriving**
– Why: Thriving implies not just surviving stress but flourishing because of it, which aligns with antifragility’s core. It’s simpler and more intuitive than “antifragility,” shedding the technical vibe.
– Edge: It’s widely understood and carries a positive, active connotation—think “thriving in adversity” versus “bouncing back.”
– Limit: It might lack the specific punch of gaining strength *from* disorder rather than just enduring it.
2. **Adaptive Growth**
– Why: This two-word phrase nails the dynamic process: adapting to challenges and growing as a result. It’s less abstract than antifragility and emphasizes evolution over mere recovery.
– Edge: It’s descriptive and practical, suggesting a clear mechanism—adapt, then improve.
– Limit: It’s less punchy and doesn’t inherently convey the relish for chaos that antifragility does.
3. **Robustification**
– Why: A made-up word (inspired by Taleb’s style), it suggests the act of becoming more robust through stress. It keeps the focus on improvement via trial, not just holding steady.
– Edge: It’s got a gritty, transformative feel, like antifragility’s proactive stance.
– Limit: It’s not a real word (yet), so it might confuse rather than clarify.
4. **Buoyancy**
– Why: Beyond just floating back to the surface (resilience), buoyancy hints at an inherent lift—a natural tendency to rise higher after being pushed down.
– Edge: It’s vivid and metaphorical, evoking a sense of effortless gain.
– Limit: It might feel too passive, missing antifragility’s aggressive embrace of disruption.
5. **Exaptation**
– Why: Borrowed from biology, exaptation refers to traits co-opted for new purposes—like feathers evolving for warmth, then enabling flight. It captures antifragility’s knack for turning stress into unexpected advantage.
– Edge: It’s precise and ties into natural systems where antifragility shines.
– Limit: It’s niche and academic, less accessible than antifragility.
If I had to pick a winner, **thriving** might be the most elegant and universal—it’s concise, positive, and implies more than survival without needing a glossary. But if you want a term that keeps the edgy, contrarian spirit of antifragility, **robustification** could grow on you (pun intended).
Which resonates with you, or do you want me to brainstorm more? Maybe something tailored to a specific context you’re thinking of?
Interesting? I think so. So, what is my takeaway from all this? It all boils down to one thing as far as being able to be robust or to thrive after an experience or set of experiences that push us down and potentially break us. It boils down to choice. Making a decision to do and be different because of those experiences. If you don’t like it, change it. If you bounce back to who you were, being resilient, change. Why? Because the old you, prior to the experience got you into the experience. Assess that experience and choose to do and be different. Don’t go back to being the same as before or you are bound to repeat it. Making a decision is much easier than the follow-through. That takes commitment. When the fuel from the commitment runs out, you’re gonna have to run on conviction. That conviction is what endures until the change becomes permanent and causes the natural adaptation of the mind. You will take on the credo of, “I don’t mind because it doesn’t matter”. Resilience will be neat but not varsity level in reference to an unstoppable nature.
Lastly, when a person develops that unstoppable nature in them, they will become explorers of their new world. They will become fearless, more curious, and unable to be returned to the herd. That part of the brain has been opened. The part that most people are unable to tap into. You’ll become the person whose peers look at them and wonder, “How did they do it? What changed in them?”. Why does this matter? Because the world needs more people like this. “Be the change you want to see in the world” is a fantastic reminder of the limitless potential we have. To be able to change the world, you have to change you, first. Those adverse and traumatic experiences in life are blessings in disguise. If you live like they were curses, you’ll remain resilient at best. Those are fuel for growth. Once the growth begins because of the opening of the mind you have changed yourself. People see it and they want it and begin their own personal walkabout, their own journey. They change. Their peers see it and they change and so on. You have become a force multiplier to create a better world because of a choice you made due to your experiences. When something bad happens, I want you to do something. I want you to say, “Good”, out loud. Hit your ball in the bunker? Good. Get into an argument with your teenager? Good. Get fired from work? Good. I learned this from listening to Jocko Willink. Why is it good? Because once you’ve shifted your mind to the path of the Sage, difficult circumstances become learning opportunities.
I wish you the best as well as many challenges on your journey.
Hoodlm's Thoughts, Reviews and How-To's 