Welcome to February!
I had the opportunity to share my program with a college women’s basketball team this month. I learned so much from being in their presence, and the number one thing I learned is how important it is to be resilient. This college team has been struggling all year long with challenges and personnel issues. It seemed like weekly, they had a death in the family, a family member who became ill, and team members with injuries.
When I was asked to come and speak to this team, I was happy to be asked – but at the same time, I was a bit hesitant thinking I wasn’t sure how they were going to take my program. Walking into the room the evening of my program, I was welcomed with open arms. The coach came up and hugged me, and some of the players were in the room already waiting. As I saw laughter, tears, and smiles while I was speaking, I felt their pain. They have been having a tough year.
After I was done, pizza was brought in, and we all stood around and visited and shared stories. I noticed the camaraderie this team had and the support from one another they shared. They even asked the coach if they could all have a sleepover before leaving the next day for a big game. The resilience this team has displayed is something I wish I could share with the entire world. After all their challenges and heartbreaks, they went on to become regional champs. That’s resiliency!
What is resilience? Why is it important, and how do you know if you are resilient enough? Resilience refers to successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences. It’s really about your ability to face adversity and bounce back and grow despite your challenges.
You can’t build resilience alone. It takes time, strength, and help from people around you; it takes a team! We all have set backs in life, and it’s how we bounce back after those setbacks and continue to move forward that shows how resilient we are. Demonstrating resilience includes working through emotional pain and suffering, and that is what this college women’s basketball team showed.
I learned from them that night. I learned that no matter how hard life gets, there is always a game to play and a ball that needs to be put through a hoop. I am proud of this team and their coaching staff for being a real team and showing how strong they really are on and off the court.
