🧭 Sunday Storytime: 3 Stories of Resilience

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Here’s Where We Are Headed Today:

• Marcus Aurelius on Mindset

• Sunday Storytime: 3 Stories on Resilience, Grit, and Perseverance

• Favorite Posts I Found This Week

• Free Mental Fitness Links 👇

3 Stories of Resilience

Today’s post is based on my post on X yesterday where I talked about JJ Watt’s story of resilience. For those who haven’t read it, it’s an inspiring story from walk-on to NFL All-Pro. His is 1 of 3 inspiring stories of resilience, grit, and perseverance (I also included this story as number 3 if you didn’t see the post on X).

Story 1 - Tony Bennett and NCAA Champions - After the 2018 NCAA Tournament, Virginia coach Tony Bennett was lost. His team collapsed in one of the biggest upsets of all time, losing as a 1-seed to 16-seed UMBC.

He debated all offseason how he would address the loss and the team. His wife had an idea. She attended a series of TED Talks in Charlottesville in 2014 and one talk stuck with her. It was about storytelling and adversity, it was called How the Story Transforms the Teller.

And this is how a TED Talk motivated the Virginia basketball team to become national champions.

Tony Bennett watched the TED Talk and took so many powerful lessons from it, but most of all, he learned the power of adversity and the stories that we tell ourselves. At the bottom, there is a link to the video of the TED Talk, and I included some great quotes throughout.

After watching the talk, Tony Bennett had an idea. On the first practice in October, instead of getting out on the court, he had his team watch this 17-minute TED Talk.

In the TED Talk, speaker Donald Davis says, “You’re not telling the story to change what happened. You’re telling the story to change you.” And that is what the Cavaliers did. They told their story. It allowed them to accept what happened in 2018 and move on from how they felt.

Starting shooting guard Kyle Guy talked about how much the loss hurt him and how they needed a police escort after the game because they received death threats. He said, “For me, it's never forgetting it, but definitely trying to move past it to where I'm not hanging my head on it.”

Assistant Coach Jason Williford told his story about not shaving or leaving the house for three days. He finally talked with his wife and knew it was time to get up and rewrite Virginia's story in 2019.

Virginia, with a few lucky bounces and calls, would go on to win the 2019 national championship.

As part of his own story, Tony Bennett said at the game, “If you learn to use adversity right, it will buy you a ticket to a place you can’t go to any other way. I think (last year’s loss to UMBC) bought us a ticket to a national championship.”

Source: TEDx Talks | How the story transforms the teller | Donald Davis | TEDxCharlottesville

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgeh4xhSA2Q)

Story 2 - The Flight of Aeneas and the Founding of Rome - After ten years of battle, the Greeks finally destroy Troy by using the Trojan Horse to infiltrate the city. During the chaos and destruction that ensue, Aeneas, who is deeply loyal to his family and people, is called by the gods to leave the city and save a remnant of the Trojans. He’s reluctant at first but ultimately accepts his divine mission to found a new homeland for his people. As the city crumbles in flames, he carries his aging father, Anchises, on his back and leads his young son, Ascanius, through the chaos, embodying courage and duty. Despite his efforts, he tragically loses his wife, Creusa, during the escape. She reappears as a ghost to encourage him to continue. This loss haunts him, but he presses onward, driven by the promise of a new homeland and a legacy for his people.

Aeneas’s journey to Italy is filled with storms, conflict, and heartbreak, especially as he faces the wrenching choice to leave Dido, Queen of Carthage, to fulfill his destiny. The gods frequently intervene, guiding and protecting Aeneas, particularly his mother, Venus, and Jupiter, who remind him of his fate: to found a great empire that will one day become Rome. After years of wandering, Aeneas finally reaches Italy, where he faces another series of conflicts with local tribes. He battles Turnus, a local prince, for the hand of Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus, and the right to settle in Italy. Aeneas eventually defeats Turnus, securing a future for his people and laying the foundations for what would become the Roman Empire. His son Ascanius is said to found Alba Longa, from which Romulus and Remus—legendary founders of Rome—are later born.

Aeneas’s resilience - his ability to endure loss, overcome obstacles, and stay true to his mission - is a testament to the Roman ideal of “pietas,” or devotion, making him a symbol of strength and perseverance that inspired the Roman people.

Story 3 - JJ Watt from Walk-On to 3x Defensive Player of the Year

In 2007, JJ Watt wasn’t highly recruited coming out high school. He was a 2-star Tight End / Defensive End that chose to go to Central Michigan. After 1 season of catching just eight passes, he knew something wasn't right.

JJ talked to his parents about doing something unthinkable.

He was considering leaving Central Michigan and his scholarship behind to become a walk-on DE at Wisconsin. JJ said, "I wanted to play in the NFL and I only caught 8 balls as a TE and that isn't going to get you to the NFL."

His family supported him. They said they would financially support him for one year as a walk-on. But that he would really need to commit to this. Essentially every day from that point forward would be his Super Bowl.

JJ said, "It was a gamble on myself." He talked to the head coach of Wisconsin, Coach Bielema, and transferred to Wisconsin as a DE.

From January to June, he worked at Pizza Hut to make money while he studied at a local college before enrolling in Wisconsin. He used this time to bulk up, work hard, and commit to his craft.

JJ joined the team as a walk-on and practiced on the scout team. He played every day that year like there was no tomorrow. 

After being a scout-team all star in 2008, he earned a scholarship on the team. During his first year as a starter in 2009, he recorded 4.5 sacks.

That was just the beginning for JJ and the rest was him making history!

So what can we take away from these stories?

1. The most dangerous stories you make up are the ones that diminish your worthiness - You tell yourself stories every day. Those stories determine your attitude, mindset, and habits moving forward. They drive your perceptions of reality and start to form your confidence beliefs and self-limiting beliefs.

   In Donald Davis’ TED Talk, he emphasizes the power that one story can have on your perception of reality. Choose to re-frame your stories and overcome those self-limiting beliefs because that's how you move you forward.

2. True strength is found in resilience and purpose - Aeneas' journey to establish a new homeland for his people, despite profound personal losses, highlights the importance of staying committed to a mission. His resilience through adversity reflects the power of devotion and the drive to leave a legacy, even when the path is difficult.

3. It’s great to have dreams, but you need to show up and do the work to make those dreams come true - JJ Watt's story shows that his initial situation didn't deter him; instead, he dared to make a bold decision to switch positions and universities to follow his dream of playing in the NFL. It underscores the notion that self-belief alone is not enough; it must be combined with the courage to take risks and the commitment to do the work.

Favorite Posts I Found This Week

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