How Privilege Creates Resilience
In my last post, I shared about how I managed to use the Resilience Toolkit to save myself from spiraling into overwhelm and shutting down to thinking creatively to recover after my car battery died on a ridiculously busy day.
Today, I’d like to offer another layer to the story - the layer of privilege.
If we aren’t careful, stories of recovery from stressful situations and building resilience can have a “pull yourself up by the bootstraps” vibe. (Fun fact: The website Useless Etymology notes the saying is attributed to a physics schoolbook from the late-1800’s that contained the question “Why can not a man lift himself by pulling up on his bootstraps?”)
However, as we know, it’s impossible to pull yourself up by the bootstraps, from the perspective of both physics and socioeconomics.
What other factors made this scenario turn into a good-news-story?
It has to do with the system we’re living in. Beyond the basics of privilege related to my gender (cis-gender female), race (white), and sexual orientation (hetero), there are lots of additional ways the system I live within helps insulate me, which increases my resilience when things take a turn for the worse.
🌱 A Job with Flexibility: In addition to this passion project, I have a corporate job for 37.5 hours a week that offers flexibility to go to appointments. (Education Privilege)
🌱 Health Benefits: Said flexible job also has a comprehensive benefits package that includes coverage for mental health practitioners and make it easy to access by offering direct billing. (Education and Wealth Privilege)
🌱 Cash: In this case, I spent an extra $30 on the two Ubers to get to and from my appointment. I can easily absorb these incidental costs without having to make any major sacrifices. I also have a cell phone and a membership to a roadside assistance service - all things I am able to afford within my monthly budget. (Wealth Privilege)
🌱 A Supportive Boss: This is not specifically tied to an element of Power/Privilege, but it is so rare that I want to highlight it. As we know, a corporate policy is only as good as the supervisor who follows it. In my case, I have a wonderfully supportive and kind boss who prioritizes the health and wellbeing of her team.
Maybe you also are cushioned by a layer (or layers) of privilege; maybe you’re not.
Either way, there are things you can do both in the moment and in preparation to help build resilience and use it when you need it.
The Resilience Toolkit helps people like you to learn more about your own stress responses and build capacity for supporting yourself when shit goes sideways AND work to build capacity for more resilience within the rest of your life as well.
Questions? I have answers! Book a discovery call with me.
