7 Steps to Radical Resilience by Mordechai Schiffman and Tamra Wright

From resilience to radical resilience

What is resilience? Colloquially, we often talk about the ability to ‘bounce back’ after a crisis or setback, returning to our usual activities, and our usual selves. But Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt’l, backed by both contemporary psychological research, Jewish tradition, and the broad arc of Jewish history, encouraged us to be more ambitious: we should aim to emerge stronger, as both individuals and communities, from every setback. Sounds good, right? But you are probably wondering a) is this really possible, and b) if so, how do we do it?

What the research shows about resilience

The American Psychological Association provides a useful, broad definition of resilience: ‘The process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands.’ Researchers Tedeschi and Calhoun distinguish between resilience —the ability to live effectively after hardship—and post-traumatic growth: changes, transformations, and opportunities that emerge as a direct result of a traumatic event.[1] For the purposes of this handout, ‘resilience’ on its own refers to that ability to ‘bounce back’ after a setback, and the term ‘radical resilience’, inspired by the writings of Rabbi Sacks, refers to the ability of individuals and communities to emerge stronger after a crisis. Contrary to popular assumptions, research shows that most people do not experience PTSD after a traumatic event, and many experience post-traumatic growth. In one study, nearly half of the people interviewed experienced PTG after a traumatic event.

How can we become more resilient?

Research indicates that factors including robust finances, community resources, and supportive family and friends protect against PTSD and enable PTG. A long list of internal psychological characteristics has also been suggested, including, but not limited to:

• Agency

• Compassion

• Confidence

• Conscientiousness

• Creativity

• Cognitive flexibility

• Empathy

• Extraversion

• Hope

• Humour

• Optimism

• Perseverance

• Problem-solving

• Purpose

• Relationship skills

• Self-esteem[2]

The 7 steps below include many of these factors and emphasize aspects of contemporary psychology and Jewish tradition that Rabbi Sacks highlighted in his writings.

Step 1: Embrace a growth mindset

The first step is to internalize the idea that resilience is not a fixed quality, like the colour of your eyes, but something you can consciously develop. Rabbi Sacks often cited the idea of ‘growth mindset’ in the work of psychologist Carol Dweck. When people operate from this mindset, they see themselves and others as able to grow through their own efforts. Failure becomes not a reason to give up, but an opportunity to learn. According to Dweck, people with a growth mindset ‘think success means learning, not proving they’re smart or talented. They choose paths that stretch their abilities.’

 Reflection: When have you succumbed to a ‘fixed mindset’ and concluded from failure or a setback that you just weren’t smart or talented enough for the task? When have you embraced a growth mindset?  Are you ready to embrace a growth mindset approach to cultivating resilience in yourself and others?

Step 2: Reframe past setbacks

Psychologist George Bonanno suggests that the most important meta-skill for resilience is flexibility.[3] Cognitive flexibility is an important component of flexibility, and cognitive reframing is a core therapeutic strategy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). A meta-analysis of research into the effects of cognitive flexibility has shown that it offers protection from stress and enhances resilience.[4] 

Rabbi Sacks frequently mentioned reframing in his teaching, even proposing that CBT (and Positive Psychology) could be combined with Jewish sources to create a ‘new Mussar.’[5] In a powerful essay arguing that Joseph was ‘the first psychotherapist’, R. Sacks points to Joseph’s ability to reframe his brothers’ selling him to Egypt as beneficial. Joseph not only freed himself ‘from a physical prison; he freed himself from an emotional prison, namely resentment toward his brothers.’ Instead of seeing his life through the lens of sibling rivalry, he came to see it as ‘part of a larger movement of history as shaped by Divine Providence.’

Connecting Beck’s work to Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy and to Martin Seligman’s learned optimism, R. Sacks argues that ‘what links all three thinkers is their belief that (1) there is always more than one possible interpretation of what happens to us; (2) we can choose between different interpretations; and (3) the way we think shapes the way we feel.’[6]

Reflection: think of a time when circumstances that appeared to be completely negative (e.g. a failure, job loss, or romantic disappointment) turned out to lead to something positive. What did you learn from the experience? How might you use this memory in the future to prompt you to reframe a difficult experience?

Step 3: Create positive new habits

If you want to make lasting changes to your thoughts and behaviour, information and insights will only get you part of the way. You will also need to create new habits. Rabbi Sacks emphasized the transformative power of ritual and habit. He compared the daily spiritual practices of Judaism to the routines of high-performing athletes and artists—suggesting that repeated actions create inner resilience and shape identity.​ ‘Ritual is to spiritual greatness what practice is to a tennis player… They are the precondition of high achievement.’  

Creating new habits doesn’t need to be difficult or rely on vast amounts of willpower. The Tiny Habits® method, created by behaviour change expert Dr BJ Fogg of Stanford University, is an evidence-based approach that is easy to learn and takes just a few minutes a day.

Reflection and action step: What new habit(s) would you like to develop? Register here for free Tiny Habits coaching via email or email me: tamra.2020torah@gmail.com 

Step 4: Focus on flourishing (PERMA), not happiness

Greater resilience isn’t the end goal; it serves the bigger purpose of enabling you to thrive even in challenging and uncertain times. Rather than focusing on the pursuit of ‘happiness’ (a word that means different things to different people, including happiness researchers), leading psychologists recommend evaluating your life using the PERMA framework developed by Prof. Martin Seligman, one of the co-founders of Positive Psychology. PERMA stands for the five components of a desirable life:

• Positive Emotions

• Engagement (aka ‘flow’ or being ‘in the zone’)

• Relationships

• Meaning

• Accomplishment

Reflection: consider your current situation through the lens of each aspect of PERMA. What are the smallest changes you could make to your daily or weekly routines that would:

• lead to you experiencing more positive emotions (such as joy, gratitude, or curiosity)

• give you more opportunities to experience flow (e.g. make time to practice a neglected musical instrument)

• improve an important relationship?[7]

The Meaning aspect of PERMA is arguably the most important. Here are two questions to consider:

• When in your life have you experienced a strong sense of meaning, a commitment to something greater than yourself?

• What is your mission in life? (If that’s too broad, try breaking it down: what is your mission as a friend/parent/employee/member of a particular community?)

Finally, consider your goals. Anything that gives you the satisfaction of accomplishing a goal is an important part of flourishing, but you might want to prioritize your goals using the PERMA framework. Can you think of at least one goal that fulfills most of these criteria:

• It serves a greater purpose (Meaning)

• Working towards the goal brings you into productive contact with others (Relationships)

• You enjoy at least some aspects of the work, or it generates positive emotions such as curiosity, gratitude, excitement etc. (Positive emotions)

• At least some of the activities that lead to the goal are ones where you have experienced moments of flow in the past (Engagement)

Step 5: Look after your foundations

This one is the most obvious, but many of us need a gentle reminder from time to time. Neglecting any of the components of a healthy lifestyle will lead to decreased resilience and make it more difficult to flourish.

Reflection: what is the smallest change to your daily routine you could make this week that would enable you to get more sleep or exercise, eat healthier food or reduce your stress?

Step 6: Cultivate hope

Both hope and optimism feature prominently in the long list of psychological characteristics associated with greater resilience (see above). The terms are often used interchangeably in everyday speech, but philosophers and psychologists distinguish between them. Rabbi Sacks was fond of pointing out how he understood the difference:

His understanding of hope has two important features: 1) it includes a sense of agency, something that is relatively common in the psychological and philosophical literature on hope and 2) unusually, it emphasizes the social dimension of hope (‘together, we can make the world better’).

Reflection: Bearing in mind the above distinction between hope and optimism, who is the most hopeful person you know? What might you learn from them?

Step 7: Add a dash of humour

Perhaps the most enjoyable way to increase resilience is to seek opportunities for laughter and amusement. Humour researcher Peter McGraw writes that it enhances wellbeing in two ways [I have preserved the American spelling in the quote]:

Rabbi Sacks was fond of including humorous anecdotes in his talks.  In Celebrating Life he explained why: “I like jokes because they are an unserious way of saying serious things." In the same book he asserted that “Humour is first cousin to hope.”

 Reflection: Who or what makes you laugh? How can you add more laughter and amusement to your day? How might you share humour with others?

Footnotes

[1] Richard G. Tedeschi and Lawrence G. Calhoun, “Posttraumatic Growth: Conceptual Foundations and Empirical Evidence,” Psychological Inquiry 15:1 (2004), 1–18. The five potential domains of growth proposed are improved relationships, personal strength, new possibilities, spiritual development, and appreciation of life. Summaries of the psychological literature in this post are taken from Mordechai Schiffman and Tamra Wright, ‘Radical Resilience: Hope, Agency and Community in the Thought of Rabbi Sacks’ in Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, Special Issue: Rabbi Sacks’ Intellectual Legacy, vol. 57, no. 4, Fall 2025.

[2] George A. Bonanno, The End of Trauma: How the New Science of Resilience Is Changing How We Think About PTSD (Basic Books, 2021); Vijay Parkash and Updesh Kumar, “Resilient Personalities: An Amalgamation of Protective Factors,” in The Routledge International Handbook of Psychosocial Resilience (Routledge, 2016), 91–103. The above list of protective factors appears in Schiffman and Wright, ‘Radical Resilience: Hope, Agency, and Community in the Thought of Rabbi Sacks’.

[3] Bonanno, The End of Trauma. See his discussions in chapter 5 about the “flexibility mindset,” and in chapter 7 about the “flexibility sequence.” See Schiffman and Wright, ‘Radical Resilience’.

[4] Alexander D. Stover, Josh Shulkin, et al., “A Meta-Analysis of Cognitive Reappraisal and Personal Resilience,” Clinical Psychology Review 110 (2024).

[5] Tamra Wright, “Afterward: A New Mussar,” in Radical Responsibility: Celebrating the Thought of Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, ed. Michael J. Harris, Daniel Rynhold, and Tamra Wright (Maggid Books, 2013), 245–258.

[6] Jonathan Sacks, Judaism’s Life-Changing Ideas: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish (Maggid Books 2020), 51–56. See Schiffman and Wright, ‘Radical Resilience’.

[7] These questions can be considered separately, or you can look for changes to your lifestyle that might meet all three needs. Spending time with others engaging in an activity that you enjoy can lead to moments of flow, strengthen those relationships and generate positive emotions. Engaging in communal religious or charitable activities might also add the dimensions of Meaning and Accomplishment. 

[8] Sacks, To Heal a Fractured World, 166 (emphasis added).