What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger -- Or…. a Bunch of Other Possibilities

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

I was just discussing this phrase in my Facebook group, Women Setting Healthy Boundaries.

Is it true?

After giving it some thought, here’s what I’ve come up with:

It’s complicated. (No way you didn’t see that coming.)

Sometimes, what doesn’t kill you does make you stronger. Other times, maybe it just doesn’t kill you.

And then there are times when what doesn’t kill you might actually break you.

It’s okay if our response to life’s difficulties or trauma isn’t new-found strength, especially right away. It’s okay (not to mention totally normal) to need time to heal and rest, and it’s okay to need support.

It’s okay if our response to life’s difficulties or trauma isn’t new-found strength, especially right away. It’s okay (not to mention totally normal) to need time to heal and rest, and it’s okay to need support.

Those are the sources of our strength.

What we teach in Empowerment Self Defense (ESD) is to accept that we can only control those things that are within our control, and that with the right tools and support, we have a better chance of coming through life’s difficulties, able to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Some days, that is the best we can do.