Written by: Robert McAlister, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
1982. Looking back, perhaps my interest in all things resilience (I knew it as survivalism back then) was originally sparked by watching First Blood ‒ the first Rambo movie aged around 15. The story of an ex Green Beret (US Special Forces) and decorated Vietnam veteran, who had to survive in the wild after an altercation with an overzealous Sheriff intent on hunting him down.
Not everyone’s cup of tea I completely understand but please read on.
Perhaps whilst not the most traditional route into the psychology and theories of resilience it was perhaps the initial spark for me. I am also sure there will be far more intelligent people out there than me who will challenge and question whether survival is resilience and vice versa, but there are certainly close links.
According to a 2017 article by Ash Buchanan published in Benefit Mindset it states:
Surviving
Surviving simply means to continue to live or exist. When uncertain and unexpected events happen, we respond in a way that enables us to keep on existing. Our quality of life, however, has been diminished because we are unable to adapt to the unexpected events.
Resilience
Resilience refers to our ability to cope with uncertainty by bouncing back. In psychology, resilience is defined as an individual’s ability to adapt to life challenges. In ecosystems, resilience is defined by an ecosystems ability to respond to disturbances by resisting damage and recover quickly.
Perhaps there were stronger links than I had previously considered.
Anyhow, I was completely hooked when Rambo’s mentor went on to explain ‒ “He (Rambo) has been trained to ignore pain, weather, to live off the land and eat things that would make a billy goat puke” He’s an expert at guerrilla warfare, with guns, with knives, with his bare hands, his job was to win by attrition, and he was the best”
What a guy, sounded resilient to me!
However, another important element to this story is that Rambo was clearly affected by his wartime experiences and suffering from PTSD, clearly something missed (overlooked more likely) by the Sheriff. He has regular flashbacks to his time in Vietnam where he was imprisoned and tortured and has the physical and metal scars to prove it. We will come back to that point later.
Interestingly most people associate the Rambo character with violence and gratuitous killing. Whist this is certainly true of the subsequent films it may surprise you to know that in First Blood, Rambo goes out of his way to not kill anyone (watch the film again).
Note: This is not a film review article, so where am I going with this?
With my imagination and interest fully lit, every free weekend I had were then spent living in the local woods, building shelters, finding water and food, and practicing primitive fire lighting techniques and sleeping out overnight.
As I delved deeper into this interesting new world, I realised that there were a million books on the survivalist subject, some better than others, but I quickly stumbled upon a copy of Total Resistance by Major H. von Dach of the Swiss Army which was then and still is advertised as a cornerstone of any survivalist’s library.
This legendary book is a manual designed to teach how to win even when an adversary is an unwinnable and superior military power.
To me this was ‘very Rambo’ (visions of a one-man army) capable of taking on insurmountable odds and win no matter how difficult, but this was not fiction but fact. The book was written in 1957 to prepare the Swiss population for an occupation of Switzerland by Warsaw Pact forces, an eventuality then considered possible in the context of the Cold War.
As I have previously mentioned, back in 1982 none of this meant ‘resilience’ to me, but years later I can see dots connecting, relationships and gaps in our thinking.
2022
Forty years later I have been reflecting on this very subject matter, based on the current situation playing out in Ukraine and how the general population have had to adopt a ‘total resistance’ approach to the latest Russian invasion.
Watching teachers, shopkeepers, and taxi drivers on TV reports, making Molotov cocktails (improvised incendiary device), homemade ballistic vests, and old aged pensioners learning how to handle and shoot AK-47’s (assault rifle) so they can defend their homeland.
In February 2022, the Russian invasion of Ukraine joined the growing list of 2020s era-defining events. Naïvely, much of Europe thought that war on, or over, its doorstep was a crime of the past, consigned to history.
In their excellent article Resilience – What Can the Ukraine War Teach Us Caroline Field and Daniel Gunn discuss the following elements.
This war has led to many Ukrainians having to personally take responsibility for ensuring their own survival, unthinkable to many in the West as we have consistently handed over responsibility for our societal resilience to our many institutions and agencies.
This reliance on the ability of established and recognised institutions to maintain the status quo has reduced the extent to which most of us personally engage with creating our own or public resilience.
My thoughts turned to the rest of Europe, and whether every countries population would or even could mobilise for this type of ‘total resistance’ in this way and what are the affecting and related factors involved.
It appears based on the certain evidence that one key element is very much down to how the population is encouraged to engage in resilience type activities by its institutions.
Increasing Resilience Capacity
In a post pandemic world of ‘furlough expectant citizens’ has our collective mindset, capability, and capacity for resilience, or ‘total resistance’ been eroded further?
One question worth asking, is do the institutions who are traditionally charged with societal resilience want the population to support these activities or have they made us less resilient and more reliant?
Field and Gunn continue that historically this trade-off might not have troubled us, and for some thinkers handing over personal responsibility to effective, protective institutions is a sign of a developed country. But with unprecedented disruption in the form of a global pandemic, supply chain shortages, energy crises, the climate emergency, and most recently war, the position has shifted.
Expanding capacity in institutions is challenging. Strong institutions grow slowly, they require time to gain public trust and their resilience-building capacity.
Nordic countries appear to lead the way in this space according to the same national resilience experts.
Historically rooted in the Cold War, Sweden’s Total Defence plan provides Swedes with detailed information on survival tactics in the event of a crisis or war. This includes the expectation that they should be prepared to support themselves for a minimum of seven days.
Denmark and Norway both possess powerful and well-equipped Home Guard forces which fulfil duties ranging from chauffeurs for diplomats to full-scale military operations. Norway’s current Chief of Defence was previously head of the Home Guard, underlining the recognition of the significance of civilian efforts in these countries. This contrasts with the UK which has previously committed but underfunded and undercoordinated efforts of community involvement and support in dealing with crises.
Earlier this article stated the following ‒ This has led to many Ukrainians having to personally take responsibility for ensuring their own survival. Would other European citizens be prepared and capable of such extreme resilience in similar circumstance.
Slightly aside but highlighting related cultural and societal challenges; were the findings from the following survey. Back in 2015 a WIN/Gallup International Global Survey asked the question of which countries populations are most willing to fight a war for their countries and the results are quite interesting with the advantage of hindsight.
Europe was the continent with the fewest people willing to fight a war for their country.
From high to low, these are the percentages by European country:
74% – Finland
73% – Turkey
62% – Ukraine
59% – Russia
58% – Kosovo
55% – Bosnia and Herzegovina
55% – Sweden
54% – Greece
47% – Poland
46% – Serbia
41% – Latvia
39% – Switzerland
38% – Ireland
38% – Macedonia
38% – Romania
37% – Denmark
29% – France
28% – Portugal
27% – United Kingdom
26% – Iceland
25% – Bulgaria
23% – Czech Republic
21% – Austria
21% – Spain
20% – Italy
19% – Belgium
18% – Germany
15% – The Netherlands
Globally, an average of 61% of respondents in 64 countries said they would. Morocco (94%), Fiji (94%), Pakistan (89%), Vietnam (89%) and Bangladesh (86%) had the highest percentage willing to fight. The country with the fewest people willing to go to war was Japan, with just 11% of respondents saying they would fight.
But you only must look at what is happening in Russia upon the state requirement for additional conscription and the subsequent mass exodus of eligible males across Russia’s borders to see the reality versus statistics of such a monumental life changing decision.
Perhaps one reason is that to some degree we have been somewhat sheltered from the horrors of war, over the last 20 years, with Middle East wars appearing somewhat remote and technically fought, seeing sterile digital images of drone strikes on CNN, Whereas the Ukraine war is being fought far more conventionally, old school perhaps with images of fighting in trenches, door to door, with war crimes and mass graves not seen since the Balkans campaigns in the 1990’s.
There are huge differences between the computerised fantasies of the Call of Duty generation and the realities of actual war it appears!
Whether we believe the statistics is one thing and considering that inevitably the world has changed since 2015, the findings still make for an interesting debate and analysis based on current European events and potentially worsening steps.
National Resilience Strategies
Most countries are struggling with creating the notion of, explaining, and building greater societal resilience.
A recent Institute for Human Sciences seminar discussed such a topic: The EU, the Ukraine War and the Meaning of Resilience. The keynote speaker Nathalie Tocci Director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen and Pierre Keller Visiting Professor at the Harvard Kennedy School. Addressed the following:
Resilience can both mean the readiness to withstand pain and the ability to bounce back and transform and there are opposing interpretations.
Against the backdrop of the Ukraine war, Vladimir Putin perhaps banks on the EU’s low threshold of pain endurance, be it in terms of bearing the energy and economic costs of the war, its defence implications, or the long-term societal acceptance of refugees. Whereas the EU instead relies on its inherent DNA to transform crises into opportunities for the integration project.
I would encourage anyone interested in this subject matter to watch the recording of that seminar.
The UK’s own National Resilience Strategy which is currently under review and will call for a “whole of society” approach. This will be essential to deal with the limitations of the current resilience activity and put plans in place to protect, adapt, and respond to changing conditions and mass disruptions.
Over the last year I have been actively involved in developing and to some part measuring community and responder resilience both in the UK, Ukraine and first contact bordering countries. As part of my UK based projects, I have come into contact with The National Consortium for Societal Resilience. They have developed some interesting research conducted by Alliance Manchester Business School and Thames Valley Local Resilience Forum (LRF) into this area of work 'to enhance the whole-of-society approach to resilience, so that individuals, community groups, businesses, and organisations can all play a meaningful part in building the resilience of their society’
There has also been some discussion in the UK around a “National Reserve Force” which could be an interesting direction. However, this would need to raise awareness and provide guidance and structure for the average citizen to feel empowered to do their part.
Again, these initiatives are highly dependent on institutions and agencies driving this change rather than citizens understanding the importance of having this type of resilience when crisis, disasters or emergencies strike for themselves.
Developing Societal Resilience
Ukrainians have made unimaginable sacrifices to protect their country. Given the current and future disruptions to all our lives, it is an excellent time for a much wider global debate around societal resilience. This must include conversations about the current and future risks to the world and acceptable levels of disruption that the public is willing to tolerate and be ready for.
How we prepare our citizens and communities to be more resilient
What education and training they should receive
What equipment and support they would need
The world is once again facing the spectre of a nuclear threat and newspapers are full of articles asking what would we do if nuclear attacks occurred? We are perhaps closer to being back in the 80’s and hence subconsciously provoking the themes within this article.
Whilst this article is set against the backdrop and context of war in Ukraine, the examples on ‘resilience versus reliance’ highlighted can be clearly related to many other global emergencies, crises, or disasters large or small in scale.
We have yet to fully realise the longer-term interconnected risks and impacts of the next war, pandemic, or global climate on regular citizens and their ability and capability to survive and remain resilient.
Coming Full Circle
I mentioned in my introduction that my starting point into this subject matter came through an interest in survivalism and I guess in becoming a survivalist.
The Wikipedia definition of a Survivalist is as follows:
A survivalist is a person who anticipates a potential disruption in the continuity of local, regional or worldwide society, and takes steps to survive in the resulting unpredictable situation.
Today, could you not use similar terminology for Business Continuity, Risk and Resilience or Emergency Planning experts?
In Rambo 3 – (Brace yourself, yes there are 5 movies!) Rambo’s mentor requests his help on a mission to Afghanistan (back in the 80’s and pre 9/11 the US and allies where helping Afghanistan people fight Russian invaders) Funny how things turn out heh!
Rambo who is now retired and trying to live in peace with religious monks (yes that’s right), says he cannot return to fighting again, explaining “my war is over” obviously talking about his deeper inner conflicts and the fact he has found a level of peace.
His mentor then explains that he has not yet come ‘full circle,’ that he cannot fight what he really is and that he needs to come full circle. Going on to explain that US Special Forces did not make him this super soldier it was in him all along.
He tells Rambo a story about a sculpture who brought home a huge rock and worked on it till one day his friends said what a marvellous sculpture he had created. The sculpture said, I have created nothing, the sculpture had been there the whole time. He had just cleared away the rough edges.
Basically, alluding to the fact Rambo had always had this ‘inner resilience, fight or strength’ inside but the military had just cleared away the rough edges.
But it raises an interesting point, I wonder how many of us are unaware that we have this innate inner resilience or fighting strength’ within, but no one (including ourselves) has ever sought or more importantly needed to find it through self- awareness, training, encouragement, or guidance.
Whilst many reading this may feel the many references to Rambo are irrelevant, flippant, or disrespectful against such serious contents covered, then consider this!
Metaphorically Rambo came to my rescue back in 1982, when life was a little darker for me personally, it inspired me to believe that when bad things happen and life gets tough, you can survive and move forward whatever the odds. A belief that perhaps we all have a little Rambo spirit in us all when needed. We sometimes need inspiration, and it may just come from surprising sources is all I can say! So, this is an important part of my own resilience story.
Resilience Ownership
“We know ourselves only as far as far we’ve been tested” Extract from a poem by Polish Nobel laureate Wislawa Szymborska
Progress is not impossible, but the next crisis may hit larger and faster than the institutions charged with readiness can respond and recover. This makes it even more important and effective to increase our societal and personal engagement with resilience.
Strengthening overall resilience not reliance must be our number one priority against future crises. We undoubtedly live in a rapidly changing world — a world where uncertainty or unexpected events are becoming more frequent.
What worked yesterday is not necessarily going to be enough to see us into the future. Neither is trying to remain completely risk free — attempting to stop all unexpected events up front, which is just impossible. Similarly, our institutions will struggle to cope alone with these growing challenges.
Uncertainty challenges us to become aware of how we can use unexpected events to transform ourselves. Uncertainty challenges us to become mindful of the innovation opportunities, such that we can adapt, evolve, and thrive in response to our changing contexts.
Uncertainty presents us with a choice — we can choose to be fearful and stick to what we know, or we can choose to lean in, question our underlying beliefs and assumptions, and discover how we can adapt in the face of our challenges.
Perhaps we will ALL need to find a little ‘Rambo’ spirit when needed!
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Robert McAlister, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Robert’s mantra is ‘think differently’ and he certainly walks that talk in everything he does. Certainly not one for taking the easy path, he thrives on a challenge and the words ‘the most tenacious person we know’ are a major understatement. He is a recognized leader in the field of leadership and team coaching. and is the Director and driving force behind Glenbarr Coaching, who offers a very different coaching experience. For over 30 years he has worked globally with a diverse range of high-profile clients from Governments to NGO’s, Private Sector Corporates to Public Sector Agencies. Celebrities and Senior Executives who have all benefitted from his sought-after talents. Such a wide portfolio and body of work has provided him with very unique insights and approaches to training and coaching strategies that work and are sustainable. The central theme to Robert’s career has been people development and growth. Specialising in mindset, behaviours, and team dynamics to effect positive outcomes and increased performance. Equally, at home in the boardroom or challenging field environments getting his hands dirty, Robert’s real magic is bringing the best out of individuals or teams to achieve their goals. If you are looking for a truly transformational experience that is remembered and relived long after any official training or coaching session, then Robert is the guy to talk to!
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