I recently listened to a podcast on resilience with Patty Azzarello, where she shared a quote often attributed to Anne Lamott that I immediately wrote down:
“Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.'”

Becoming CEO of a tech company at 38 taught Patty a thing or two about resilience, and one idea from her podcast struck a chord: Resilience isn’t always about pushing harder. It’s about coming back.

We often think courage looks bold and visible. More often, it looks remarkably ordinary: showing up again when it would be easier to disappear.

If you’re pursuing work that matters to you, there will be moments when you wonder if you belong or whether it’s worth the effort. Patty says, “Go back anyway.”

One of my favorite sayings is, “It’s not how hard you fall, it’s how quickly you get up.” The longer I lead, the more I think resilience is less about toughness and more about recovery.

We all need to strengthen our bounce-back muscles — and, as leaders, help create environments where our teams can do the same.