Hello ,

Steve Magness, a performance coach who has worked with Olympians and professional athletes, has become an expert on resilience. Magness notes that admitting our weaknesses can actually increase our resilience.

Imagine being dropped in the woods with a friend or two and asked to live off the land to survive. In the U.S. military, this is part of everyone’s training. It’s called SERE: survival, evasion, resistance, and escape. Studies find that up to 96 percent of individuals experience dissociation during the training—the fog of war. 

Some handle it better than others.

I talked to individuals who went through this crucible, and they reported the same thing. As one soldier put it,

"When there’s a difference between what you project and what you are capable of, it all crumbles under stressful situations. On the other hand, if you’re honest with yourself, and acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses, what you’re capable of and what might scare you, then you can come to terms with what you’re facing and deal with it. It’s not bravado, it’s humble confidence. A little doubt keeps you sharp."

Research backs this up. We want our perception of the difficulty of a challenge and our ability to handle it to be realistic and overlap. When we go in with bravado, it backfires because at the first inkling that we may not be able to succeed, our brain freaks out.*

Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.  2 Corinthians 12:10 (Message)

I've spoken with so many Christians over the years who feel very weak on a regular basis. Acknowledging that doesn't make us weaker. Giving that weakness over to the only One who can give us strength is the strongest decision that we can make.

Have a great day and God bless!

Pastor Mike / The Open Word