Resilience As A Practice

Welcome to the O.R.
No Incisions Required

I recently had the opportunity to listen to Meghan Musnicki speak at a conference.

For those unfamiliar with her story, Meghan is an American rower, a five-time World Champion, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. What stood out most was not the medals, but her honesty. Success did not come easily for her. In fact, it nearly didn’t come at all. She spoke openly about setbacks, disappointments, and moments where quitting would have made sense.

She attributes her success to one thing: resilience.

During her talk, Meghan said something that immediately resonated with me: resilience is something you can learn.

I agree.

Looking back, my own resilience was not something I was born with. It was built through repeated choices. The choice to keep moving forward regardless of outcome. The belief that I could. A quiet trust that things would work out the way they were meant to, even if not the way I imagined.

“You may not control all the events that happen to you,
but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou

I also learned something important along the way. When I stopped moving, I did not protect myself. I blocked opportunity. Forward motion, even when uncertain, became my resilience practice.

Meghan shared a moment from her journey that illustrates this perfectly. After being cut from the National Rowing Team for the third time, she found herself sitting on the floor of her shower, crying. She could have stopped. She could have decided she was done. No one would have blamed her.

That moment is one most people recognize. Not because they are Olympic athletes, but because it is where anxiety shows up.

Anxiety often lives in the space between disappointment and decision. It floods the mind with doubt, fear, and imagined outcomes. It can feel paralyzing. In those moments, doing nothing can feel safer than moving forward.

Resilience begins right there.

It is not the absence of anxiety. It is the choice to move despite it.

Meghan did not quit.
She did not stay on the floor and wallow in self-pity.
She stood up and made a choice. A choice to continue. In the face of an uncertain outcome.

That is resilience.

Not the absence of pain.
Not blind optimism.
Not pretending setbacks do not hurt.

Resilience is the choice to continue. Again and again. Especially when stopping feels easier.

When I was a child, I lived with high anxiety. Back then, it was loud. Consuming. It showed up as constant scanning, overthinking, and a deep need to control outcomes so I could feel safe.

Today, anxiety still exists for me. But it is quieter. Softer. Less commanding.

I acknowledge it, decide what matters, and move forward.

A defining moment that illustrated resilience for me came the day I loaded my clothes into my car and drove 1,400 miles to start a new life.

“Feel the fear and do it anyway.” – Susan Jeffers

I did not make that decision because I felt fearless or certain. I made it because I felt stuck.

Movement, even imperfect movement, was the only way forward.

What changed was not the absence of anxiety. It was the presence of resilience.

For me, resilience did not come from eliminating anxiety, but from learning how to lead myself through it.

Over time, that shift changed resilience from something I reacted with into something I practiced intentionally. Through repeated choices to keep moving forward, I learned to trust myself, survive uncertainty, and recognize that discomfort did not mean danger. As that trust grew, anxiety lost its grip.

This is something I want people to understand clearly. You do not need to eliminate anxiety to build resilience. Waiting for anxiety to disappear keeps you stuck. Resilience is built by moving forward alongside it.

Anxiety tends to freeze us in place, convincing us that stillness is safety.
Resilience gently restores motion.
One choice.
One step.
One decision at a time.

As resilience strengthens, anxiety does not vanish.
It simply stops running the room.

Meghan Musnicki proved that one decision made in uncertainty can change everything. She stood up, moved forward, and earned Olympic gold. And then another.

Where might anxiety be asking you to pause, and where might resilience be inviting you to take one small step forward?
What opportunity might be waiting on the other side of motion?

You’ve been in the O.R.
No incisions required.
Perspective adjusted.

See what you notice when you choose motion.
If this resonated, I invite conversation. Motion begins when we engage.