Amy Cuddy of TED Talk fame and Bonnie St. John, who skied in the Olympics, are well known for their accomplishments, but they’ve also had setbacks. The most obvious — St. John’s leg amputation at age 5, and Cuddy’s traumatic brain injury as a teenager. However, they credit their success not to the lessons learned in dealing with major challenges, but rather the small ones. In this interview, we learn that “micro-resilience” and small tweaks can mean the difference between surviving, and thriving. According to St. John, “Micro-resilience is a lot of little things across a spectrum. There’s brain things, metabolism things, purpose-oriented things, anxiety.” Other areas for improvement can be your posture, relationship with fear, or mindset, adds Cuddy. Here, their stories and strategies for overcoming obstacles.
