Building Resilience with Option B

I think we can all agree that 2020 is not unfolding the way any of us had planned. The onset of our current reality has thrown millions of people some serious, unexpected curveballs. As I think of how this year is unfolding, I keep thinking about resilience. The idea that “resilience is a muscle that can be trained” fascinates me. I first learned about this notion when I began working on building resilience with Option B.

Lately, I keep thinking about this one line in particular:

“Option A is not available, so we just have to kick the sh*t out of Option B.”

If there’s one perfect sentence to summarize 2020 thus far, this is it! I’m pretty sure no one’s Option A is available right now. Like many others, I, too, struggle with anxiety and fear around the uncertainty of our current reality – which is why I decided it was time to give this book another read.

Why I Read Option B

I first read Option B a couple years ago after experiencing a professional setback that was crushing to me at the time. I felt humiliated and was fairly certain I would never, ever recover.

My girl crush on Sheryl Sandberg initially began when I read Lean In. I enjoyed her writing and point of view, but when I found Option B, I was first intrigued by its subtitle, “Facing Adversity, Building Resilience and Finding Joy.” Seemed like I needed help in all three of those areas, and so I began my journey of building resilience with Option B.

Facing Adversity

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book is that it explores real stories in which people are faced with incredible setbacks and loss, and how they recovered and rebounded. For me, it put my situation into perspective by giving me a much-needed kick in the pants to get my act together.

For example, Sheryl Sandberg’s husband, Dave, passed away suddenly while on vacation in 2015. She was faced with not only mourning the loss of her husband but also supporting their grieving children. My problems were miniscule in comparison. As I continued reading, I realized that if people like Sheryl could overcome much more devastating events, I could certainly rebound from what was a minor setback in the grand scheme of things.

Building Resilience and Finding Joy

I love Option B because it teaches that building resilience and finding joy again is possible. And it outlines how to navigate this journey — whether you are experiencing loss or adversity directly, or are trying to best support someone through this process. It helped me turn inward to find the strength and resilience to fail forward. It also transformed the way I think about facing adversity. I hope you read it and enjoy building resilience with Option B as much as I did!

Have you read Option B? Contact me and let me know your thoughts!