In a time of constant change, we need to stop thinking about how to recover, and start thinking about how it can help us grow in our careers and personal fulfillment.
Today, our collective experience has transformed resilience from a crisis response to an ongoing necessity. And that’s a good thing.
If transition is the new normal, we need to stop thinking about how we can recover from it. Instead, let’s start thinking about how we can propel ourselves forward. What if we see resilience not as a reaction to hardship but as a mindset we can adopt?
Reframe your story
In global executive and HR consulting, I was part of some of the largest healthcare mergers in history; helped align once-competing companies into better, combined versions of themselves; and led teams through layoffs, expansions, and even pandemics. But HR wasn’t really my first career. In fact, it wasn’t even the one I wanted to pursue.
Before I got into this field, I was the youngest research scientist ever hired by a major academic institution. I had big dreams of running the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US), and getting into HR was not in the cards for me. But then a major reorganization of the company changed the hierarchical structure by decentralizing all the major functions. Suddenly, each region was responsible for all its support services, such as IT, HR, etc.
When my annual performance review came up, about two weeks before the change was to take place, my boss convinced me to take over as the HR manager for our region. As he saw it, I got along well with both the administrative and operational staff. Even though I had no HR experience at the time, it was the best thing that could have happened to me.
The transition was not easy. In the lab, I was used to variables that I could control; although the experiments were unpredictable, they followed natural laws. HR was a completely different field. It introduced me to the complexities of human behavior, organizational politics, and the dynamic landscape of corporate culture.
More than a change in job title, moving into HR required a complete adjustment to how I understood my professional identity and purpose. While it led to some of the most wonderful and fulfilling moments of my career, it required a realignment.
With the world changing at such a rapid pace, many people are facing a similar crossroads. LinkedIn reported that 64% of people feel overwhelmed by work-related changes, and nearly half of respondents worry about their ability to cope.
Change is often seen as a deviation from our plan and therefore a kind of misfortune. But we don’t have to think that way. We can adjust our mindset to transform with change. According to McKinsey , employees who display traits such as flexibility in the face of variation (also known as resilience) feel more confident and relaxed when faced with change.
Rebuild and redefine your reference points
Whether change comes by choice or by circumstance, it is an opportunity to grow.
I’m not saying you can’t take time to feel bad if you get laid off or your plan doesn’t go as you hoped. Last year, you were a doctor; today, you’re a stay-at-home dad. Last month, you were running your own lab; now, you’re making a living explaining astrophysics on TikTok. Yesterday, you were someone else; now, you’re learning to be who you are today. These changes aren’t necessarily negative, even if you feel disoriented at first.
In a culture obsessed with metrics and milestones, it’s easy to forget that success is deeply personal. The accomplishments that bring us genuine satisfaction may not fit neatly on a resume or LinkedIn profile. They might look like the joy of witnessing your child’s first steps because you chose to work from home or the satisfaction of mastering a new skill totally unrelated to your previous career.
Once you find a new path, I invite you to think about what can move you forward in the way that best suits you. What if these unexpected turns are not detours but the beginnings of a full life? What does success look like on this new path?
If I hadn’t adjusted my career dreams after transitioning to HR, I might not be proud of all I accomplished, such as becoming a CHRO ( Chief Human Resources Officer ) six times and running my own consulting firm.
A reminder: life happens
There’s an old saying that life is what happens when we’re busy making other plans. I think resilience is what happens when we learn to lean into that. It’s when we appreciate and embrace transitions, using each experience as an impetus for growth.
Embracing change doesn’t mean giving up on our goals; it means adapting them to our current realities.
The time to practice resilience isn’t when life changes happen. It’s when everything seems stable. By cultivating this mindset in the present, we build a solid foundation for handling future transitions. We also improve our ability to appreciate and maximize new paths to success.
