Unconventionality and Resiliency

Are unconventional people more resilient or does resiliency empower unconventionality?

It’s somewhat like the query, ” What came first, the chicken or the egg?” There is no right or wrong answer because the query is meant to highlight the synergy between the two. Therefore the unconventional person must possess resiliency to withstand the judgments of others and also to be bold enough to be their authentic self. Furthermore, by being one’s unconventional, authentic self one becomes more resilient.

 

First, let’s define unconventional according to the Cambridge dictionary: “not based on or conforming to what is generally done or believed”.  Conventional actions are ones expected based on societal and religious norms for instances. Now, let’s define resilient according to the Cambridge dictionary: “having a lot of physical or mental strength.” The resilient person is able to have the flexibility to come back to stability with adaptability.

Unconventional approaches that are not the “normal” way of doing something surely require the flexibility and adaptability of resilience in using the unique or unconventional approaches to achieve a goal.  

 

For instance, I recently read about a new start-up company that is using AI and automation in the fishing industry. The basic premise is to use this technology to perfect fishing and also preserve the fish environment in the eco-system. Apparently human fisher-people kill a lot of fish inadvertently because of human error so a large proportion of fish do not wind up on the plate. This unconventional approach will reportedly result in more accuracy in fishing and also preserve the fish culture. This is an unconventional approach that these founders have a lot of mental strength to pursue to attain backers for this endeavor. Alternatively speaking, because these founder are resilient they are confident enough to pursue an unconventional path from the norm.

 

One can argue that most creations derive from unconventional thoughts. It takes a certain amount of resiliency to have the confidence to travel on a different path often with the prospect of rejection and judgment.The resilient person can be a non-conformist because they will comeback from negativity and the non-conformist can be authentic because they have survived struggles before so they have the confidence to overcome challenges.

 

Linda Joy Walder