THE POWER OF RESILIENCE
Life can deal us some pretty heavy blows. Sometimes, it pulls the rug right out from under us. But the key to happiness, success and, ultimately, survival is resilience. Here’s how Fedex Express Canada president Lisa Lisson leaped over obstacles and learn
How personal tragedy became a lesson in perseverance
YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT RESILIENCE— when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Those who weather the storm and survive getting punched in the gut and hit upside the head eventually come out the other side, after the In a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2010, researchers found that adversity in life isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, people who experience some lifetime hardship have higher satisfaction levels and a more resilient response to stress compared and those who never experience tragedy. That is to say, what doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger. Similarly, in 2013, the Association for Psychological Science in Washington found that withstanding short periods of adversity can help one better cope with stress. In short, resilience isn’t something we’re born with; it requires mastering. Those who practise self-care and optimism, rely on a social circle for help and support and
darkest of times.
47-year-old father to brain cancer. At the time, the 21-year-old was weeks away from graduation— - what happened. I could either continue being changing her outlook. Life threw her another
high school sweetheart, Patrick. They bought their dream home in Burlington, Ont., and had four kids and plenty of friends. They went on date nights and pursued careers that challenged them. Life was idyllic. But then, one night in August 2007, Lisa was awakened when she breathing. “I felt powerless and paralyzed, but
she was brought to her knees.
She wrote about taking her kids to see their father one last time in Resilience, a book about Maintaining her composure, she watched as each
“I felt powerless and paralyzed, but I also had choices. I thought, If I believe there will be a miracle, I’ll get one.”
child (all too young to know this was the end) kissed him goodbye, and then she took them to the fair. The next night, she returned to the hospital, crawled into bed with the love of her life and held him as he died in her arms. It was August 2009.
It would’ve been understandable for Lisa to fall apart, and there were moments when she didn’t know how she’d persevere. “It didn’t I realized that if I was going to survive, I had to life was going to turn out.”
Surviving made her stronger than ever. She threw her heart into her kids and her career, and she thrived. Nearly three years after Patrick’s heart attack, and a year after he died, Fedex Express Canada. “Instead of focusing on what I didn’t have, I focused on what I did: four kids, family, friends and supportive colleagues,” she says. “I surround myself with people, places and things that inspire me. Today, I continue to look ahead, never behind.”