Build Courage,
Leadership, and Resilience

What exactly needs to be developed to become resilient?

Many agree there are different levels of resilience to be expected at different ages and even in different fields.

For example training on military resilience is very different from how we would discuss it with teens. This course will introduce concepts for variations and provide links to additional information.

For now, we are going to begin with the idea of the 7 Cs mentioned by Coach Reese. Here they are again in case you missed them: Confidence, Competence, Connection, Character, Contribution, Coping, Control.

These seven concepts really summarize where we need to focus our attention to become stronger in certain areas of our lives.

The students will be developing their personal research focusing on one or more of these areas.

You might consider researching along with them. Where do you think you might work a bit more on skills for bouncing back?

Leadership requires many skills. It’s important to learn about leadership prior to taking on a leadership role. You can do this by studying other leaders.

Over time, leaders learn to use tools for reflection so they can make plans related to their own growth.

Just like anything else, pausing to learn, think, and plan can boost a person’s ability to achieve their goals.

Fight, Flight, and Freeze are the three basic ways that our bodies respond to threats.

Your brain might decide that fighting the danger is best. For example, if you are faced with an unfriendly animal, you might yell or throw things at it to try to get it to go away. You might have learned to wave your arms and stomp your feet. You’re trying to prove that you are the bigger threat so the animal will leave you alone!

Sometimes, flight is the best option. Your brain wants to get you out of a dangerous situation quickly. This could mean physically running away from something scary, but it could also mean avoiding something that you find intimidating. For example, maybe it means not raising your hand in class because you’re scared you’ll get the answer wrong in front of others.

The last “F” stands for freeze. Sometimes, your brain can’t make a decision. Instead of fighting or running from the danger, you freeze up. You might have a hard time speaking or yelling, your mouth might go dry, or you might feel faint or lightheaded.

It's important to make plans related to personal growth as a communicator.

That's why it's important to use all experiences to grow and learn. This means that sometimes people have to get out of their own comfort zone in order to learn.

All people, including children and adults, must work continuously to strengthen their verbal and nonverbal communication, active listening skills, written expression, and online communication.