Resiliency in Our Communities
Resiliency is typically not the first word we pull from our adjective list to describe well established cities or businesses, yet resiliency is arguably one of the most integral components in longevity. Inevitably people or places that have been around for a while go through hardships and become defined by these experiences.
Growing up we’re taught a subconscious American ideal: when you get knocked down, you come back bigger and stronger than before. Think Rocky or [insert any sports movie here]. We are conditioned to nourish the idea that no matter what, any individual can succeed if they keep going and work harder than the competition.
Yet the “get knocked down and get back up again” mentality has one specific fatal flaw: what do we do when we get up? Are we to repeat our past and try again? Or are we obligated to stand up, dust ourselves, face the reality of our past, and pivot?
The question of what we do when we get knocked down is ultimately a test of resiliency. Resiliency becomes a defining make-or-break quality in all of us and how we responded in the face of hardship.
Our histories and tales are full of heroic emblems of resiliency. Atlanta, one of our Company’s locations, became defined by resiliency. The budding city in the 1860s was literally burned to the ground in the civil war by General Sherman. Resiliency became the defining quality of the city and is still frequently visible today with the the city symbol of a Phoenix literally rising out of ashes or the Falcons rally cry being “Rise Up”. MLK Jr., the most famous resident, was the epitome of resilience. Every challenge he faced forced him to make one of two choices: quit in the face of adversity or keep going. Fortunately for all of us, he never backed down and kept advancing the civil rights movement in the face of racism and injustice. At the time of his assassination, he had grown the movement to an unstoppable point and resilience pushed his followers to keep making progress.
Atlanta, and every city, now sits at the precipice of adversity and opportunity. We will all be faced with a choice in the new normal of COVID. Will we choose to be resilient and rebuild and reimagine our local communities or stick only to the past?
We, at Local Union, are betting on resiliency for our business. We opened our business in the heat of coronavirus because we were tired of sitting passively on the sideline while we read about the struggles of businesses and service industries month after month. When the world was telling us to hide, we decided to throw our minds towards the rebuilding process by connecting ideas, small businesses and consumers in new ways.
Who knows if it will pay off but we bet on ourselves and we bet on resiliency. There is no day like today to start re-imaging the future.
- Brent
What ways are you or your company resilient? Share your stories below!