Being able to place a challenging situation and surpass it with a positive mental attitude. Resiliency is the one trait I know can make anyone that has it become successful. This trait has helped me overcome many obstacles in my life and has hardened me for future problems that arise. Dr. Robert Brooks, co-author of The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence and Personal Strength in your life says in his book that, “Resilient individuals are those who have a set of assumptions or attitudes about themselves that influence their behavior and the skills they develop. We call this set of assumptions a mindset. Possessing a resilient mindset does not free you from stress, pressure, and conflict but rather that one can successfully cope with problems as they arise.” I have that trait! When I was eight years old and my parents decided to move from Colombia to the United States, I was uprooted to another continent. Moving to the United States clicked something inside that made me realize that I had to become adaptable, adjustable and quick to recover. All of this was tested throughout my adolescence. Being an immigrant already posed a challenge, but for me I was the new kid, I couldn’t speak English, and I was used to Catholic schools. I had to adjust and I did. I was in the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class for only 4 months and learned enough English to test out. I learned to play football and basketball, both sports that are not widely played in South America. My parents, being from Colombia, didn’t know how to speak English, and my father lost a lot of jobs because of it. That caused more moving around between apartment and apartment, living in one or two bedroom apartments with four of us. I adapted and adjusted always looking at the future and how I can make my life better. Later on in life I joined the Marines and this just capitalized on my
Being able to place a challenging situation and surpass it with a positive mental attitude. Resiliency is the one trait I know can make anyone that has it become successful. This trait has helped me overcome many obstacles in my life and has hardened me for future problems that arise. Dr. Robert Brooks, co-author of The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence and Personal Strength in your life says in his book that, “Resilient individuals are those who have a set of assumptions or attitudes about themselves that influence their behavior and the skills they develop. We call this set of assumptions a mindset. Possessing a resilient mindset does not free you from stress, pressure, and conflict but rather that one can successfully cope with problems as they arise.” I have that trait! When I was eight years old and my parents decided to move from Colombia to the United States, I was uprooted to another continent. Moving to the United States clicked something inside that made me realize that I had to become adaptable, adjustable and quick to recover. All of this was tested throughout my adolescence. Being an immigrant already posed a challenge, but for me I was the new kid, I couldn’t speak English, and I was used to Catholic schools. I had to adjust and I did. I was in the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class for only 4 months and learned enough English to test out. I learned to play football and basketball, both sports that are not widely played in South America. My parents, being from Colombia, didn’t know how to speak English, and my father lost a lot of jobs because of it. That caused more moving around between apartment and apartment, living in one or two bedroom apartments with four of us. I adapted and adjusted always looking at the future and how I can make my life better. Later on in life I joined the Marines and this just capitalized on my