The Significance of Resilience

The Significance of Resilience

 

Ross Edgley is a British athlete, ultra-marathon sea swimmer, and author known for his numerous world records. He is also regarded as the modern-day pioneer of endurance. His most notable achievement is completing the World's Longest Staged Sea Swim in 2018. He was motivated to rediscover human resilience and courage and demonstrate to the world that we can overcome challenges. The first obstacle he faced was scepticism. Edgley trained his mind to push beyond self-imposed limits. He found inspiration in the concepts of stoicism and the training methods of the U.S. Navy SEALs. Thus, he employed both ancient wisdom and modern technology to combat scepticism. Stoicism holds that while we may not control external events, we can control ourselves and our reactions. Ross Edgley practised stoicism through journaling, which helped him gain mental clarity.  

 

As mentioned, Stoicism teaches us how to manage our responses to the external environment.  

 

The three basic tenets of stoicism are:  

 

1. A good body houses a healthy mind.  

2. The mind can always overpower the body.  

3. Logic over emotions.  

 

According to Ross Edgley, speed can be fragile, while a slower approach might be more substantial and assertive. Edgley believed in the concept of periodisation, which is a cyclical strategy of preparation, competition, and recovery. He teaches us that life is like an ocean with elements we can and cannot control. He encourages us to cultivate a spirit of understanding and acceptance when faced with things beyond our control, warning us that resisting or wrestling with these things is futile. He introduces the concept of ‘amor fati’ - a Latin phrase that means "love of fate" or "love of one's fate." A Stoic mindset involves accepting everything, including suffering and loss while finding meaning. He urges us to discover contentment in simplicity and to embrace the uncontrollable. The other side of what we cannot control pertains to what we can control. This applies not only to the external world but also to our internal world of emotions and thoughts. He refers to this space as an inner citadel or a mental bastion, resembling the Japanese concept of the Eightfold Fence, which has appeared in Japan's history and the 2024 TV series Shōgun. Edgley uses the example of Admiral Stockdale, a prisoner of war, to illustrate the importance of maintaining ‘mental poise amid external chaos.’

The ideas are adapted from this book: