Adam Markel argues resilience is essential for high performance. He uses a lifeguard story about three whistles to frame self-care as duty, not selfishness, and urges building resilience through routine and ritual before crisis hits.
Chapters
Resilient teams change the world. You can't fight the currents. When you do, you get worn out. It's really about resilience. Without that, we cannot succeed. Three whistles rang out, and I knew what that meant. Meant someone was missing. We're all lifeguards in this room. All of us are guarding something in our lives. We're guarding our families, clients, our customers, our businesses, our health, our relationships, and all that guarding takes a toll. Resilience is not just about the physical. It's mental, it's emotional, it's even spiritual. High performance isn't about exhaustion. It's not about burnout. It's about recovery. We've got to develop our resilience before we need it. How do you routinely and ritually take care of yourself as though other people's lives depended on you? To take care of yourself is not selfish. To take care of yourself creates a model for others to take care of themselves. And then it becomes cultural. Resilient teams change the world. Every time I've been caught in the riptides of fear, doubt or worry, it's like I could hear those three rescue whistles again. Only now they were waking me up and reminding me we've got to develop our resilience before we need it. It's as simple as that. It's as transformational as that. Resilient teams change the world.
