LIFT Consulting » Realizing What You’re Made Of (Story of Resilience)

Realizing What You’re Made Of (Story of Resilience) by Glenn E. Mangurian

Harvard Business Review – March 2007 issue

Reprint No: R0703J

Glenn Mangurian, a management consultant, is permanently paralyzed in the lower half of his body. The experience caused him to take stock of all that he has, rediscover some of the neglected parts of his life, and cut through the clutter to focus on what really matters. He found the will to accept that his old life was gone and decided to create a new and equally meaningful one drawn from his prior experiences and a caring community of family and friends.

He found himself to be more content (at peace) than he had been prior to his injury. He states executives/business people love to anticipate and prepare responses to various scenarios in advance. You cannot plan for life-changing experiences. Post-injury, he has explored resilience from his standpoint and had numerous conversations with leaders and others who have been through life-altering events. By sharing his story, his hope is to show people that they can create a new future after a crisis hits.

He further elaborates on the topics of:

Choose to go forward
Seek perspective
Re-create your identity
Raise the bar

Mangurian provides a summary of lessons learned. He has spoken with numerous individuals who have gone through crises and certain themes repeatedly come up. Some of the following are truisms that don’t take root until you face a serious challenge to your identity.

You can’t know what will happen tomorrow – and it is better that way.

You can’t control what happens, just how you respond.

Adversity distorts reality but crystallizes the truth.

Loss amplifies the value of what remains.

It’s easier to create new dreams than to cling to broken ones.

Your happiness is more important than righting injustices.