Quotes About Resilience

He reminds them that "life is messy sometimes. Sometimes the best you can do is to accept that it is messy, try to love it as much as you can, and move forward.

Organizations that scale well are filled with people who talk and act as if they are in the middle of a manageable mess.

people "who don't have a chance to take revenge are forced, in a sense, to move on and focus on something different.

The protective powers of such "upward hostility" seem striking: abused employees who fought back harder were less prone to see themselves as victims, more satisfied with their jobs and careers, less distressed, and more committed to their organizations.

But an occasional strategic outburst seems to be effective because "targets" construe their temporary tormentor as trying to motivate them to try harder and to be smarter—they don't dismiss it as just the usual ranting from a certified asshole who berates them constantly

In Katy's language, this chapter is about—when you can't or won't avert engaging with crazy completely—how to limit the frequency, duration, and intensity of the abuse you face and feel.

And sometimes—if you are observant and patient—being invisible gives you access to information that can help you turn the tables on powerful assholes.

This philosophy means that when you've entered a den of assholes, you do everything possible to get out as fast as you can—or, better yet, to figure out how to avoid that lair in the first place. I call this the "da Vinci rule." As Leonardo da Vinci put it, "It is easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.

It's sound social psychology because, as I wrote in The No Asshole Rule, "The more time and effort that people put into anything—no matter how useless, dysfunctional, or downright stupid it might be—the harder it is for them to walk away, be it a bad investment, a destructive relationship, an exploitive job, or a workplace filled with browbeaters, bullies, and bastards.

As Paul Friedman from the University of Kansas put it, flak catchers are "lightning rods" and "hassle handlers" who take and absorb "jolts sent by the dissatisfied." Taking such heat is part of the job for receptionists; executive assistants; security guards; spokespersons for companies, universities, and political campaigns; people who work in complaint departments; and bouncers.

The officer was also proud of the thick skin he developed during his over twenty years in the U.S. Marines and National Guard—an admirable quality in a soldier or police officer, but it proved to be a double-edged sword

More than 20% of the victims interviewed by Pew did confront their abusers and most reported that doing so improved the situation.

And some of the worst add an extra twist: they take perverse pleasure in insisting that project managers like her commit to timetables and budgets that are impossible to meet—and then berate and bad-mouth them when the project begins to fail, even when the project manager had warned them that their goals were impossible to achieve (and the client insisted on charging forward despite the expert advice).

porcupine power.

Porcupine power was the only language he understood.

As we saw in chapter 5, research on schoolyard and workplace bullying shows that people who ruminate about getting even, rather than letting it go, suffer negative effects including anxiety, depression, and sleep problems.

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for You are with me. – Psalm 23:4

Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid. – Matthew 14:27

Patient plodding produces durable results.

There are grave difficulties on every hand and more are looming ahead. Therefore we must go forward. —William Carey

And she said, "It is well." – 2 Kings 4:23

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape, so that you are able to bear it.

Emotions come and go; attitudes come and grow.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. – 2 Corinthians 4:16