Let go.

Today is my birthday. A chance to practice a moment of gratitude for one more trip around the sun. It’s been a wild year and lots of ups and downs. I just want to take a second to give you a huge thanks for being here on this journey with me! The subscriber list to The Resilience Brief is growing each week and I really appreciate the support from every one of you!

If you’d like to make my day even more special, please feel free to pass this newsletter along to just one or two people who might enjoy it. No pressure! :-)

Today we’re talking about the power of letting go.

On January 15, 2022, a volcano in the Tongan archipelago erupted, triggering a massive tsunami that completely devastated the islands across Tonga. On one of those tiny islands was a 57-year old man named Lisala Folau, a retired carpenter who had a disability that affected him whenever he walked. Because of the volcanic eruption, Folau knew the tsunami was coming, so he climbed a nearby tree for safety. He was safe from the first wave… but unfortunately it wasn’t just one wave. When one of the following waves (apparently 20-foot high) eventually overpowered him, he dropped in the violent swell and was carried out to sea.

He was well and truly on his own, out in the vast Pacific Ocean.

For the next 27 hours, Folau floated in that ocean, propelled mostly by the current as he held onto a log for support. He had no choice but to let the waves dictate his course.

Through the long hours of the journey, he relied on his faith, his inner strength, and an extraordinary ability to stay calm. His approach wasn’t about battling the sea but working with it. He relinquished control and did what he could to adapt to the moment. And it worked - his approach and mindset ultimately saved his life. He ended up on the beach of a completely different island, used a broken branch to help him walk to a nearby road, flagged down a passing car, and was finally safe.

Folau’s story captured global attention, with articles in the BBC and the NYT. In Tonga he was even referred to as the “Real-life Aquaman”.

The power of letting go.

I often wonder if Folau would have survived had he tried to swim to safety shortly after he was first swept out to sea. My instinct tells me that he would have likely exhausted himself and drowned, which is what makes his survival remarkable. He survived because of his ability to surrender to the situation. Instead of resisting the tide, he used it to conserve energy and make progress in another direction.

There is a great lesson here. It can apply to the challenges we face both in life and business. Too often, we resist change, cling to old ways, or expend all our energy fighting situations we can’t control. How much would change for us if we recognized our moment to let go?

Letting go doesn’t mean giving up. Instead, it means embracing flexibility, staying calm, and finding creative ways to move forward.

Putting these ideas into practice.

Our ability to let go and adapt is just as important in the business world. It might not be life and death, but it can certainly impact our mental health and wellbeing. Here are a couple of ways we can adjust our thinking.

1. Adaptability. It’s the nature of business to face change. There will be economic downturns, new competitors, or shifts in customer behaviour. Instead of panicking or doubling down on outdated strategies, thriving businesses and resilient team members adapt quickly. Netflix is a great example of this! Like Folau, those who can pivot and “go with the flow” using certain trends to propel them forward, are the ones who most likely succeed. One way we can practice adaptability is to actually invite minor changes and disruption to build our adaptability muscles.

2. Let go of perfectionism. This is similar to the concept of focusing on what we can control. So often, leaders and teams can become paralyzed by a desire for perfection. That perfection only exists if we can control every single piece of the puzzle… which we never can. In fact, this mindset of perfectionism leads to overthinking, burnout, and missed opportunities. Instead, when we focus on progress over perfection, we spend energy on what really matters. One way to practice this is to take small calculated risks without fear of failure. That requires trust in ourselves and also from leadership.

The next time we face a seemingly insurmountable challenge at work, we can ask ourselves what would happen if we stopped resisting it? In many ways, letting go is the key to survival, and success.

Lisala Folau’s story is an extraordinary tale of resilience. Resilience is about handling hard better. Life (and business) never gets easier. What actually happens is that we learn to handle hard better. We just need the tools in our toolkit so that we’re ready when disaster strikes. One of those tools is our ability to let go.

Let’s stop fighting the current, stay calm, and use what we have to move forward.

Until next time friends, stay resilient!

Carre @ Resilient Marketing Minds