Part 4: Pancakes in a Snowstorm – How Creativity Can Emerge from Crisis

A Story of Improvisation

Let's take a look at another aspect of resilience. (The topic I have been exploring in the last several blog posts. To read the other three on resilience go here.)

Have you ever considered how necessity can bring out creativity?

Coming from a family of eleven, the ability to make something out of nothing wasn't a nicety; it was a survival skill! And one that has served me through the various trials and tribulations of adult life as well.

Many moons ago, when my daughter was in Girl Scouts, I was one of the parent chaperones for an April camping weekend. The cabin was bustling and busting from the adolescent energy of about twenty-five eleven-year-olds and a handful of wide-eyed adults. The girls were prepared with buddy-burners to prove their fire-starting and outdoor cooking skills in hopes of attaining the prize of a Girl Scout badge that would then be proudly displayed on their uniform sashes.

But on the first morning of the campout we awoke to a shocking view outside the windows: Overnight the weather had a taken an unforeseen turn from spring temperatures to more than a foot of snow! The next telltale of impeding problems was the discovery of a loss of power.

 Buddy Burners to the Rescue

With no power to the stovetop, what do you feed a herd of giddy girls who are not dismayed over the snowstorm shock, but rather biting at the bit to get out in it and make snow angels?

Well, my big-family training came forward in my prefrontal cortex to solve this problem. I inventoried our food supply and found pancake mix and syrup. Hmm...Why not use the buddy burners to cook pancakes for breakfast? The troop leaders and other chaperones gave me the crazy look, then moved aside to give me the con. I summoned the girls and requested they gather all the buddy burners.

My almost subversive idea made them squeal with delight!

In the end, I and a couple of brave accomplices, had flipped about one hundred mini-pancakes on the surfaces of a couple dozen buddy burners. The girls assisted enough to get their badge credit and then ran outside without any winter-ready apparel to play in the snow.

Meanwhile, the adults went to the next problem to solve: How were we going to dig out our vehicles to escape the surprise winter wonderland? Hmm...

To analyze that comical campout now, I wonder, was it more nature or nurture that caused my brain to create an out-of-the-box solution to feeding the troop? Depending on where you turn for the answers, you can be swayed in either direction. What stands out to me now, in the context of resilience, is how my perceived deficits in childhood showed up as an asset in this snowstorm scenario.

My mother was famous for saying “Necessity is the mother of invention!” She was right!

Researchers agree that no matter the mix of genetics, personality traits, and  early life experiences, resilience can be developed with intention. In fact, I was bolstered to learn:

Those of us who may have had something foundational lacking in our childhoods can actually have an advantage in regard to our capability to face and recover from disappointments and hardships.

 The American Psychological Association has written much on the effects of early environments on adults’ ability to draw on and even strengthen resilience when facing the inevitable disappointments and adversities of all the seasons of life.

When children face challenges and disappointments in a supportive environment, they develop the emotional, social, and cognitive tools needed to navigate adversity, recover from setbacks, and even move on strengthened. On the other hand, children in unsupportive environments must tackle significant challenges in developing resilience, but they are not without hope. With the right interventions, positive influences, and opportunities for growth, many can overcome these difficulties and build the emotional and mental strength needed to thrive.

Crisis or lack can bring out creativity, and also become a catalyst for resilience.

As you consider my lighthearted example of the improvisation that came out of an unpredictable and uncontrollable challenge, may I offer some food for thought for exploring this topic in your own story?

Think back to a time you solved a problem creatively under pressure. What did you use? Who benefited? Share your resilience win, if you’d like.

*My offer of support: If you contact me via ‘chat w/ me’ on Perils & Pearls, I will gift you a thirty-minute coaching session to talk about how you might develop your resilience through the struggle(s) you are currently facing.

*And if you have been stirred to further explore your unique wiring – strengths, passions, challenges - & you would like to experience a strength assessment with a certified life coach, I invite you to contact me.

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Blessed to play a part ~

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