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Life coach explains resilience: 'It's not about not hurting, but not living where life hit you'
🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

Life coach explains resilience: 'It's not about not hurting, but not living where life hit you'

From La Nación · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • A life coach defines resilience not as the absence of pain, but as having the internal and external resources to overcome adversity.
  • Key resources include social connections, emotional regulation, clear thinking, financial autonomy, and a sense of future purpose.
  • The ability to bounce back from crises depends on these concrete resources, not just willpower.

Resilience is not about avoiding pain or hardship, but about possessing the internal and external resources to navigate crises and avoid becoming permanently stuck in the aftermath, according to life coach Gisela Gilges. She emphasizes that the difference between those who recover from adversity and those who remain paralyzed lies in their available resources.

It's not that it doesn't hurt, it's having the resources to not stay living in the place where life hit you.

— Gisela GilgesThe life coach defined resilience, emphasizing the importance of resources over the absence of pain.

Gilges uses the analogy of skiing down a snowy mountain: one person is equipped with skis, poles, proper clothing, and an instructor, while the other attempts it in beachwear with basic boards, hoping not to fall. "The mountain is the same, the snow is the same, and the slope is the same. But one person has the resources to get through it, the other only has willpower," she explained.

The mountain is the same, the snow is the same, and the slope is the same. But one person has the resources to get through it, the other only has willpower.

— Gisela GilgesGilges used an analogy to illustrate the difference between having resources and relying solely on willpower when facing challenges.

She outlines five crucial resources for navigating crises. The first is social connection: having at least one reliable person to turn to. The second is emotional resourcefulness, the ability to feel emotions without being overwhelmed by them. "Many people don't get destroyed by what they feel; they get destroyed because they don't know what to do with what they feel," she warned.

Many people don't get destroyed by what they feel; they get destroyed because they don't know what to do with what they feel.

— Gisela GilgesGilges explained the concept of emotional resourcefulness as a key component of resilience.

The third resource is intellectual clarity, the capacity to think clearly during difficult times, acknowledging that a mind in crisis is not always the best decision-maker. Gilges also includes financial resourcefulness, which isn't about wealth but about having personal funds and autonomy to avoid dependency. Finally, the resource of the future involves having a direction, a hope, or a project that provides motivation to move forward. Gilges concludes that resilience is built upon these concrete elements, enabling individuals to withstand chaos rather than succumb to it.

There are people with a lot of money and with zero real economic resource.

— Gisela GilgesGilges clarified that financial resourcefulness is about autonomy, not just the amount of money one possesses.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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