"Resilience is often misunderstood. We're taught to think of it as some hardened mental posture-the ability to push through pain, to "toughen up," to bend and not break. But real resilience doesn't come from brute strength. It comes from self-understanding. From owning your truth, finding meaning in your pain, and choosing who you want to become in the face of your worst fears."
"But at my lowest point-trapped in a cell the size of a parking space, cut off from the world-I made a decision. I chose to change. I began to write. I read hundreds of books. I confronted the darkest parts of myself and committed to something radical: I was going to rebuild my identity from the inside out. That process didn't happen overnight. It happened through small, daily choices."
Resilience emerges from self-understanding rather than brute toughness. Owning personal truth, finding meaning in pain, and choosing who to become are core to transformation. A violent past and long incarceration can catalyze growth when one confronts unresolved trauma and unworthiness. Rebuilding identity requires reading, writing, introspection, and confronting the darkest parts of oneself. The transformation occurs through consistent, small daily choices, like building muscle, and those choices sustain reentry into society, relationships, parenting, creative work, and leadership.
Read at Fast Company
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