Can you believe that we will soon be in the final quarter of 2024? How has your year been?

This is very much a time of year for reflection on where we are — have we met our goals? Are we where we want to be? It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed by the challenges, setbacks, or fatigue that accumulate as the year draws to a close. However, the last quarter of the year is also a time of opportunity. This is where resilience becomes your greatest asset, enabling you to harness your energy and finish strong. But resilience is more than just bouncing back—it’s about thriving through adversity.

My Personal Experience With Resilience

Resilience is one of those things that gets banged on about all the time. And it’s important because it can help us get through some really tricky times. Back in 2020, just as Covid was starting to have huge impacts on us all, I was going through the work up to donate a kidney to my sister. This was super hard, there were so many tests that I had go through alone and without support due to lockdowns. The workup is great, you have to be fit as fiddle to donate, so it it’s actually quite reassuring. Until it isn’t. Unfortunately, one of my tests threw up a potentially show stopping issue. Show stopping for the donation, but also an issue that could have had serious implications for me and my family. The stress through this time was enormous. Worrying about my sister and the impact that not having the transplant would have on her, her husband, her son, our mum and dad. Then worrying about myself, my own husband and children. Having to go through another procedure before the main event and then the anxious wait. It was a lot.

I am lucky. I have been through lots of training and had a really good toolkit to draw on to not only get me through this difficult time, but to also have the capacity to support those around me. Using the tools in my resilience toolkit helped me stay grounded and present in the moment. I focused on mindfulness, I reframed my thinking into thankfulness that the issue was caught now rather than later down the line, and that if the worst happened there would be other options for my sister. By leaning into the resilience techniques I had learned, I was able to cope with the emotional rollercoaster and keep calm, even in the face of uncertainty and COVID. I learned more about my own personal strength and a gratefulness for health and life more generally.

The story has a happy ending, I donated in the summer of 2021 and now three years later, I am well and my sister is no longer spending a big chunk of her week on dialysis.

The Power of Resilience: Thriving, Not Just Surviving

In the workplace, resilience can make the difference between feeling overwhelmed by mounting pressures and finding creative solutions to meet year-end goals. According to Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant in Option B, setbacks are inevitable, but how we respond to them defines our ability to recover—and even to find joy during hard times​.

Why The Last Quarter is Different

The final months of the year present unique challenges. Whether you’re trying to hit personal milestones, meet professional targets, or simply manage your mental well-being during a busy time, resilience is what helps you stay focused, adapt quickly, and push through when others might give up.

Kelly McGonigal’s The Upside of Stress offers a powerful perspective: stress, when reframed, can actually become a source of motivation. This is particularly important as we face end-of-year pressures. Viewing stress as an opportunity for learning and growth rather than a burden, helps us transform challenges into stepping stones​. It might even give us some fight to challenge systemic issues!

Reframing: A Practical Tool to Build Resilience

Every setback is a learning experience. Brené Brown’s Rising Strong shows how vulnerability and failure are integral to developing resilience. Acknowledge where you are, what is happening, what you are feeling; challenge any unhelpful thoughts, and see if there is a way to change to a neutral or positive one. Of course there are some things we can’t change, but I bet throughout the course of a day, there will be many opportunities to try this out!

Finishing Strong

As we approach the last quarter of the year, resilience is the tool that will help you stay focused, manage stress, and continue making progress. Whether you’re facing professional challenges, personal setbacks, or simply the overwhelm of a busy time, resilience will enable you to thrive, not just survive.

Take Care!

Roz