When Resilience Works and What Comes After

Dilek Süzal
Jan 19
2 min read

Updated: Jan 22

There is a kind of exhaustion that comes from doing many things right, consistently, for a long time.

The final quarter of last year required sustained effort from me. I worked intensely with my 1:1 coaching sessions, delivered many team workshops and trainings to huge international organizations, launched a new program with care, one that later required redesign and recalibration, and entered the holiday period still carrying momentum rather than closure.

I did not rest well...January arrived as a continuation.

What supported me during that time was something I deeply trust and teach: resilience.

When things became challenging, I consciously applied what resilience actually asks of us:

Not to overgeneralize: this is not everything

Not to personalize: this does not define me

And not to make things permanent: this is only temporary

That mindset mattered. It kept me grounded, emotionally regulated, and in perspective. And still, something else became visible.

Problem: When resilience has done its work

Resilience is essential. It protects us from collapse, distortion, and self-blame.

But resilience alone is not meant to answer every question.

High-functioning professionals rarely struggle because they lack strength. They struggle when strength keeps being applied after it has already done its job.

Same effort can not recalibrate.

Solution: From resilience to discernment

In architecture, when a structure shows signs of weakness, the solution is not to reinforce every beam blindly. It’s to understand where the load is misplaced.

Human systems are no different.

Research by Martin Seligman and Adam Grant consistently shows that sustainable performance depends less on pushing through stress and more on how intelligently we pause, rethink, and recover.

Sometimes the most resilient act is stopping the wrong effort.

3 Practical reframes (instead of resolutions)

Rather than asking “How do I stay strong here?”, consider:

💎 1. What is this situation asking me to redesign, not endure?

💎 2. Where am I applying effort out of habit rather than relevance?

💎 3. What adjustment would allow forward movement to continue with the energy that is realistically available now?

I’m not entering this year with grand declarations. I’m entering it with clearer standards, for energy, timing, and alignment.

Yes, I did not rest well during the transition. And clarity had to come first.

Because sometimes rest doesn’t create clarity. Sometimes clarity makes rest possible.

And that, in itself, is a strong way to begin.

Warmly,

Dilek