Leadership in the Wild: Resilience is built in the reps no one sees

Lately I’ve been thinking about how resilience really forms — not in the big, dramatic moments, but in the quiet ones. The ones no one claps for. The ones that don’t make it into performance reviews or leadership books.

For me, resilience shows up in the small habits I return to when life feels full.

Like those mornings when I finish my devotional: I’m not trying to move mountains, just my own spiritual growth.

Or the evenings when I choose to walk — sometimes with my daughter, sometimes with my MebFit group — and let my legs find a rhythm.

Or the short lunchtime Tai Chi sessions that ground me.

Or the days when I choose a Zumba class simply because joy counts as strength, too.

None of these moments look impressive from the outside. But they’re the reps that steady me. The ones that help me breathe a little deeper, think a little clearer, and show up a little stronger the next day.

Resilience in the wild isn’t built in the spotlight. 

It’s built in the quiet — in the small choices we make when no one is watching.

Those choices become our anchor points. 

And over time, they become the strength people do see.