Lessons in Resilience

I want to talk about resilience. It’s a muscle that is a little sore and fatigued right now. Do you feel that too? We’ve been through a lot, we keep going through a lot, and I’m focusing on how to see silver linings through the shi*t.  

Soccer-Twitter is abuzz today with a report released, exposing abusive behavior at the highest levels of U.S. women’s soccer. Not the same, but I had coaches that were bullies, that took pleasure in tearing someone down. I stuck it out through the season and then left for another team because I wanted to keep playing. I’m a little older than most current players and came up through the ranks at a time when there was no league to aspire to. I was good, not great, but there wasn’t much of a future in it past a certain level. I stopped playing because I got tired, burned out, and didn’t know what the point was. I didn’t have a why. Those that kept playing in spite of this toxic culture must have had one hell of a why. Perhaps it was to win a championship title. Maybe their identity was so wrapped up in the sport, they didn't know who they were without it. Or after all the hard work becoming one of the best, they didn't want to give over their power to someone else by quitting. Whatever it is that kept them going, I would bet that their why wasn’t money.

My story with market research isn’t so different. There have been hard months with bad managers, tough weeks with challenging projects, and question-everything days following sexual harassment. My ‘why I am a researcher’ was always in my mind, and still I would hit a burnout point. I would stay, even though it was detrimental to me. But with each hurdle placed in front of me, it gave me the choice to either lose my stride or improve my jump.

When I was an employee, my why was simple: I’m a curious person who loves to solve problems. As a qualitative researcher there is no shortage of these curiosity-satisfying dopamine hits; a new proposal request, a new technology to try, or new ways of asking questions. I love being a researcher. Like many people, the last few years have been disruptive – we’ve been trying to run without being able to see the course. I’ll tell you – it had me questioning my why. And as I started to get more mindful and turn off the autopilot that I was on, my why wasn’t good enough anymore. I needed to do my best work for more than corporate profit.

Here's my refined why and why I started The Thick Data Company: I want to use my research skills to make the world a more inclusive place, one interview at a time. I want to contribute to products, services, and experiences that work for more people. I want to do research that makes diversity, and accessibility the default, not an add-on. I want to be a force for good.

In its simplest definition, resilience is about moving through the tough times to the other side. But for people and businesses to be resilient, they must be willing to adapt, innovate, and tweak. The ones that do it most authentically do it aligned to their why, their values, and their purpose. The smart ones leverage insights but also don't get stuck on analysis paralysis. The brave ones revise their why if it doesn't serve them any longer. Adapt or die.

What’s your why?

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