LISTENING OPTIONS!

Listen to episode above 👆🏼

Or you can click here to find and subscribe to Wellbeing Interrupted on your favourite App!

Listen on your favourite App

Have you ever felt like you were trying to be resilient—but it just wasn’t working? Like you were doing your best to push through, but somehow it still didn’t feel like enough? 

In this episode of Wellbeing Interrupted, I talk about one of the most common pieces of advice we hear when navigating illness: “Be resilient.” And why, in reality, that phrase often misses the point. 

Because resilience isn’t the starting point. It’s the result. And it begins with something much more subtle—an open mind. 

This is a reflective episode where I share how my own resilience has grown, and what really helped me build it—not through pressure or grit, but through openness, curiosity, and change. 

What Happens When You’re Told to “Be Resilient” 

When you’re facing a health crisis or chronic illness, people often mean well. But phrases like “stay strong” or “be resilient” can actually feel like pressure. Especially when you’re grieving, in pain, or simply trying to keep going. 

It can feel like you’re failing if things aren’t getting better. Or like you’re not trying hard enough. But the truth is—resilience isn’t about pushing through.  

The Turning Point That Helped Me Redefine Strength 

In my 20s, when I was diagnosed with MS, I thought resilience meant being strong in a very traditional sense. Get through it. Get the treatment. Go back to work. Keep going. 

It worked for a while. Until it didn’t. After months in hospital and endless relapses, something had to change. 

That’s when I opened my mind. I started to explore new ways of healing—yes, still medical, but also energetic, emotional, and spiritual. I left my corporate job. I travelled. I started to listen to myself in a new way. 

That was the beginning of my real resilience. 

Why Resilience Doesn’t Always Start with a Diagnosis 

When I was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, I was terrified. But feeling the emotions didn’t mean I wasn’t being resilience. In fact, I was resilient from the very start of that diagnosis. 

And that’s because everything I’d learned through MS—the emotional work, the mindset shifts, the support systems I’d put in place—was already there. 

I didn’t have to figure out what to do. I already knew how to calm my mind, connect with the right people, and stay open to all types of healing. 

That resilience didn’t appear overnight. It was the result of years of being open. Open to doing things differently. Open to growing through discomfort. That’s the kind of strength we don’t talk about enough. 

You Don’t Have to Feel Strong to Be Resilient 

Resilience isn’t about pretending. It’s not about being tough all the time or keeping it all together. It’s about being open—especially when life doesn’t go the way you expected. 

If you’re feeling tired or stuck or like you’re doing something wrong because you’re not “bouncing back,” I hope this episode gives you some relief. 

You’re not doing it wrong. You’re learning to be open. And that’s where resilience really begins. 

Final Thoughts 

If this episode resonated with you, I’m so glad. These are the conversations that matter. Keep an open mind. Let that be your starting point. The resilience will follow. 

And if you haven’t already, make sure to listen to Episode 65, where I talk about the pressure to “just stay positive” and why authenticity matters more. 

Show Resources

Episode 65: The Authentic Mindset: Why Forced Positivity Isn't the Answer

Transcript Episode 66: Resilience Isn’t the Start – An Open Mind Is

Teisha Rose: [00:00:00] Hey there, Teisha here and welcome to episode 66 of Wellbeing Interrupted. Again, if you are new to the podcast, I've noticed lots of people starting to listen and also catching up on old episodes. Thank you so much. I'm really pleased that we've connected

apologies if you hear a little bit of noise in the background. If you don't know, although I mention it a lot, we're at the moment living in a caravan on a hundred acres of land, which is amazing. But what will be more amazing is when our place is finished and we can move out of the van. And that's what's happening today.

Um, builders are here, so there might be a bit of noise in the background, but . I didn't want to tell them to stop. So last week I did an episode on Authentic Mindset. So I really unpacked [00:01:00] the words. Just stay positive because often when you're living with a health condition, when you're going through really difficult times.

Sometimes people will say, you know, just stay positive. Things will be okay. So I unpack that. So have a listen after this to episode 65 to hear about what I think of that and the importance of being authentic to your emotions. Today's a little bit similar, but instead of talking about positivity, I'm talking about resilience because like positivity.

Often people say to me, which I really appreciate, you know, you're so resilient. But also on Instagram and social media, often you talk about, you hear, sorry, or see people saying that they're, they're so [00:02:00] resilient

1. When I'm doing workshops in organisations or putting together my Wellbeing workshop, there's this want of organisations , to have more resilient workers. So sometimes I think people get lost as to what that actually means. And this episode. Is all about highlighting that resilience isn't the starting point.

 So if you're sitting there thinking, gosh, I wish I was more resilient, I wish I could get through these challenges more easily. Resilience isn't the starting point, it's the result.

So resilience isn't the starting point, it's the result. So you can't start with all of a sudden jumping in and being more resilient.

Instead, resilience starts with something a lot more subtle, and that is an open mind. [00:03:00] So let's get into this episode. Again, I'm reflecting, sharing what's helped me because I don't wanna keep saying or not keep saying, I don't wanna say, yeah, I'm so resilient. Without unpacking what that means. , so I hope you enjoy this episode.

 [00:04:00] So how do you feel if you hear someone say, be more resilient or stay strong. You've got this, when you're going through really dark times, I talk about going through a crisis, , where the anxiety, the fear is forefront being told to stay resilient. To stay strong or watching people on social media saying, you know, I'm so resilient that I'm sure doesn't sit right and worse than that.

I think then that creates pressure that somehow you're not doing things right, that somehow you're not resilient enough. And I also think it's really vague because be more resilient. What does that mean? You know, if [00:05:00] you're in pain, if you are grieving, , grieving after a mastectomy, you know, being more resilient, hearing those words isn't helpful.

You're just trying to get through the day. And again, I say that adds pressure, but I sit here and I can definitely say I'm resilient. I couldn't have said that as a 22-year-old or 23, 24, 25 when I was really struggling with ms. I was very close-minded. I was strong, but strength for me was pushing through.

I thought if I get through, if I have to go to hospital, that's okay. I'll get the medication all then get back to work. Everything will be okay. And it worked for a little bit and I kept gonna hospital, kept going to [00:06:00] rehab, learning how to walk again, kept going back to work until in 20, no, 20. . In 2000.

I spent months and months in hospital. I couldn't continue doing that, but. After that experience, that's when I started having an open mind. And for me, looking back, that was a turning point, that openness. Openness to do things differently, to explore different healing modalities. Again, I always do medical, but having an open mind to different approaches.

Leaving my corporate job, traveling overseas by myself, really working out what I wanted out of this life. That was the beginning. That's where my resilience, I believe, was born, and why I say I'm resilient now. Cancer's taught me that I have been through so much in being diagnosed with stage [00:07:00] four breast cancer.

Straight up. Scary, scary diagnosis, but I knew what to do during that crisis. I knew what to do when my emotions were in, well, my emotions were up and down and so, you know, it was so scary, that diagnosis. But I've realized that everything I learned in living with Ms. I've brought to the table with this diagnosis, and that's my resilience,

not like I was diagnosed with cancer and I thought, okay, let's be resilient. You've got this. Instead, without really realizing I had an open mind, I knew who I needed to see. I knew who to connect to, to get me through that moment. I put a lot of time in [00:08:00] quietening my mind, being made sure that I was attracting and choosing the right medical team to also.

Tap into my to also to energy healing and be open to how that could help me as well.

Teisha Rose: If there's anything to learn from me, it's not because I'm resilient, but it's because I've stayed open and that's allowed me to grow and we can all be open. We can all be open to doing things differently.

We can be open to my podcast. You know, if you're listening to me talking about positivity or manifestation, be open. Be open to think about things differently. That's what will create the momentum, and that's what will help you to

heal.

 Okay, so I wanna leave you with a bit of a challenge. If you're [00:09:00] feeling overwhelmed, if you're feeling stuck, if you're feeling like everything's too much at the moment, how can you start being a little bit more open-minded in your life with your illness?

Because that will enable you to start building your resilience even more, because I'm sure you've got resilience there. . So that will help you keep building that resilience so when the next challenge happens, that becomes easier to navigate. So look at your work week, you know, if you're working.

Is there something you can do differently with your job that will make things easier? It might be if your shift working, maybe dropping a shift if that's too difficult because you need the money for that. Maybe it's relying on your support network more to help [00:10:00] things go more smoothly at home

If you are having a day off. If you are needing a break from daily routines, I'm not talking about work now, but just any aspect of your life, try and do that without feeling guilty. And doing that without feeling guilty. And I mean, I did this on the weekend. I'm trying to work really hard at the moment because I'm setting up these workshops and I'm really wanting it to do well.

But I closed my computer for a few days over Easter and I spent time just with Andrew at our place, and I had the most. Peaceful, beautiful weekend. At the beginning I was feeling guilty, but I had to challenge that I have to always be working and why I'm thinking like that. So if you find it difficult to rest and have downtime, start thinking about that.

Why are you [00:11:00] feeling guilty? If there's hard conversations you have to have with family members, friends, whatever it is, and you've been avoiding those, have them let others know how you're feeling, how you're struggling, and what you can do to change things up a bit. 

So there's so many things you can do to start building that resilience, but this week, do something for yourself. Don't feel guilty about it, but just do something that makes you feel good. Because when we start feeling better within ourselves. That encourages us to be more open to other things that we're doing.

And remember, you don't have to feel this unbelievable strength to be resilient. It is this subtle change. It's this being open-minded that will enable you to create the momentum that will enable you to [00:12:00] start feeling and experiencing things differently, , and that is your resilience.

Okay, so hopefully you got a bit out of this episode. Remember, resilience doesn't come first. It grows from the mess, from the questions, from the shifts you perhaps never planned to have. Have an open mind as that will help keep the momentum going. Keep listening to these podcasts. I wanna challenge you along the way to think differently.

1. Enough from me. If you haven't listened to episode 65 where I do a similar episode, but on positivity and really encouraging you to be more authentic to your emotions, have a listen to that.

But before I go, if you're not following me on Instagram, do so, um, Hurdle2Hope with a number two. [00:13:00] Also, I'm on Facebook Hurdle2Hope, follow those and there I share all about my life and what I was doing over the Easter break here at Daisy Hill.

Otherwise, have a great week. Do something nice for yourself, and I look forward to chatting soon.

 [00:14:00]