What Military Folk Wisdom Teaches Us About Adversity and Resilience

The military provides fertile ground for understanding the full range of the human response to trauma and adversity. Demanding training and frequent separations from loved ones are challenging even during times of peace. War, of course, presents added stressors. Palpable fear of death or significant injury, the death or debilitating wounds of fellow soldiers, the moral challenges inherent in war, and prolonged absences from friends and family contribute to a profession and lifestyle that challenge the mental health of military members.

The military recognizes the hardships its members endure and devotes considerable resources to support basic and applied psychological research on resilience. World War II spurred the expansion of clinical psychology. The unique circumstances of the Vietnam War contributed to the recognition of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a distinct psychological disorder. And the Global War on Terror has led to dramatic innovations in understanding and inculcating resilience in soldiers.[1]

The lessons learned in studying resilience in military settings are transferable to other dangerous and stressful professions. Firefighters and law enforcement officers face similar challenges. As a result of the pandemic, public awareness of the stress faced by health care professionals is more salient than ever. Frontline workers—grocery store employees, transportation employees, service workers—now face stress, uncertainty, and risk of serious illness or death just by doing their jobs. Now, perhaps more than ever, military research on resilience is relevant to everyone.

Three military sayings about adversity

The military, of course, has dealt with the issues of adversity and trauma long before the discipline and profession of psychology emerged. Among the many lessons learned through hard experience are three sayings, each commonly heard in the military, that may help non-military people deal with adversity. Each is consistent with psychological research on resilience.

If it ain’t rainin’ you ain’t trainin’. Field training—as opposed to classroom training—is vital in allowing soldiers to internalize the tactical and cognitive skills needed to optimize performance during real missions. A related axiom says that soldiers must train as they fight meaning they must complete scheduled training regardless of the weather. Ask any soldier, and they will tell you that bad weather always seems to happen on scheduled field training days. Inevitably, a noncommissioned officer will remind the soldiers that training under poor conditions is good because adversity during training builds competence in actual combat conditions.

Psychological science supports the notion that experiencing adversity and learning to overcome it builds resilience. Adversity, of course, may induce pathology such as PTSD. But pathology is only one of several consequences of adversity. Personal growth may also follow trauma and adversity, a phenomenon known as posttraumatic growth.[2] For example, following lengthy combat deployments, Army company commanders reported an increase in character strengths including teamwork, capacity to love, bravery, gratitude, and honesty.[3]

The message is that difficult experiences may be framed as beneficial to personal well-being. Framing adversity in this manner may facilitate a positive outcome from difficult experiences.

There is no bad weather, only bad gear. Soldiers must train and fight in bad weather. Proper gear allows soldiers to overcome most weather conditions. With the right clothing and equipment, they can perform in almost any weather.

In a similar fashion, we all must have adequate cognitive and emotional “gear” to weather life’s inevitable storms. Psychologist Patrick Sweeney and his colleagues refer to these skills as psychological body armor.[4] Positive character traits such as grit, courage, capacity to love, and integrity enable us to overcome obstacles and adversity. Psychological resources including hardiness facilitate a resilient outcome versus a pathological outcome in the face of adversity.

Psychological body armor can be maintained and strengthened by establishing positive relationships with family and friends. There are programs designed to build emotional resilience.[5] Framing life’s difficulties as an opportunity for growth versus a threat to personal well-being builds psychological body armor. Focusing on and seeking meaning and purpose in life is beneficial.

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Hope is not a plan. This is one of my favorite military truisms. It is not enough for a general to simply hope that troops will prevail in battle. Hope must be supported by a plan. I emphasize this point to my cadets as they prepare for exams. Simply hoping for a good grade will not produce the desired result. Diligent completion of assigned readings and hours of systematic studying lay the foundation for a good outcome.

The relevance of this saying to life in general is clear. Success in all aspects of life depends on proactive planning and preparation. Hope without planning is a recipe for failure. It is one thing to hope to live a long life. It is another to couple that hope with a good diet, plenty of exercise, wearing your seatbelt, avoiding unhealthy habits (smoking, excessive alcohol, and so forth), and nurturing deep and lasting social relationships.

Members of the military must “soldier on” despite the obstacles and threats that lie in their path. Life’s unavoidable struggles and setbacks require the same for us all. The pandemic has underscored the necessity of learning to “soldier on” and perhaps even flourish under hard conditions. These lessons—framing bad weather as an opportunity to grow stronger, equipping ourselves with optimal gear, and reinforcing hope with plans and strategies—may enable us to do just that.

Note: The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not reflect the position of the United States Military Academy, the Department of the Army, or the Department of Defense.