True Security is Resilience

I remember the feeling before my first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition. I was a white belt, and the uncertainty was heavy. In the weeks leading up to the event, I trained with a teammate who was better than me in every way. Stronger, faster, more experienced. Every round with him was a beating, and I knew it. But that was the point. Each loss was a lesson. Each drill was a chance to sharpen something that might save me later.

One drill stood out. Escaping ankle locks. It felt oddly specific in a sport with infinite combinations of techniques, but we practiced it relentlessly at the coach’s behest. Over and over until my body could do it without thinking. Still, I wondered if it would matter. There were so many other gaps in my game.

Two weeks later, I stepped onto the mat for my first match. My opponent was my size, my weight, and just as determined. We traded takedown attempts, then hit the ground with no points scored…classic white belt stuff. I ended up in his guard and tried every pass I knew. Nothing worked. Doubt crept in. My breathing felt heavier. My mind started racing.

Then as I stood to make another attempt, he grabbed my ankle.

In that instant, I heard my coach yell, “Slide home!” My body reacted before my mind could catch up. I turned, slid, and freed my leg. He tried again. Same result. After a few more exchanges, I realized something: he hadn’t made any changes in any attempt. He was a one-trick show. That gave me confidence. I escaped one last time and twisted my body, allowing a transition to side control, and eventually secured an armbar for the win. My first match was over, and I had learned something important.

Preparation matters. Adaptability matters even more. My opponent was skilled, but narrow. I was far from perfect, but my training was diverse enough to give me options (like locking in side-control and the armbar at the end). Thankfully, I had a coach who was both experienced and wise. He knew to teach a diverse skillset and to teach us to adapt.

That’s resilience.

The ability to handle uncertainty because you’ve built layers of capability.

Why Resilience Matters

Most people think of security as something you can have. Install the right software, lock the right doors, shoot the right guns, check the right boxes, and you’re secure.

That sounds simple, but it’s not how the real world works.

Security isn’t a finish line. It’s not something you buy and forget about. It’s a living process, and the real measure of security isn’t whether you can stop every threat. It’s whether you can take a hit, adapt, and keep moving forward.

That’s resilience.

A Modern Renaissance Approach

Centuries ago, the Renaissance ideal was a person who could paint, write, calculate, and build. Today, the world is different, but the principle still applies. The more diverse your skills, the more adaptable you are.

Resilience isn’t about being perfect in one area. It’s about having enough depth and breadth to handle uncertainty. That’s what makes you secure. Not a checklist, but a capability.

The Six Pillars of Human Resilience

Over the next few issues, I’ll explore what I view as the six pillars that form a practical framework for resilience. These aren’t abstract ideas. They’re areas you can strengthen, starting today, with very small changes each day:

1. Physical
   Health, wellness, fitness, strength, recovery. Your body is the foundation. If it fails, everything else gets harder.

2. Mental
   IQ and EQ, learning, reading, adaptability. A sharp mind and steady emotions are essential for making good decisions under pressure.

3. Social
   Relationships, family, marriage, networking, even your online presence. Strong connections create support when life gets turbulent.

4. Financial
   Savings, spending habits, minimal viability, investments. Money isn’t everything, but financial slack buys time and options.

5. Digital
   Computer literacy, information security, data habits, storage, backups. In a connected world, digital resilience is non-negotiable.

6. Hard Skills
   Practical capabilities: home maintenance, survival basics, food creation, fabrication, building. When systems fail, these skills keep you operational.

What’s Next

In the next issue, I’ll start with Physical Resilience. How to build strength and health without turning your life into a full-time fitness project. This will likely be a multi-week mini-deep dive into something I’ve been passionate about for years, and at the same time, still learning about every day. Then I’ll mix it up a bit.

Takeaway:
Security isn’t something you own. It’s something you build, layer by layer, across these six pillars. The more resilient you are, the more secure you become. You can rest easily with confidence that you will adapt and overcome. No matter what the world throws at you.

Stay safe out there.

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