> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://pixelsandpriorities.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 031 Resilience Is a Practice, Not a Trait - URL: https://pixelsandpriorities.ghost.io/031-resilience-is-a-practice-not-a-trait/ - Published: 2026-11-03T11:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-12T03:01:10.000Z - Description: Brandy Schade joins Metsy and J to explore how resilience develops through action, failure, career pivots, and community, and why navigating uncertainty requires more than individual determination. - Author: Metsy Rose - Tags: Human-Centered Leadership, Modern Work 🎧 *Listen to this episode on* [*Apple Podcasts*](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pixels-priorities/id1888767923?utm%5Fcampaign=011-empathy-at-work-the-hidden-pressures-of-product-and-design&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=pixelsandpriorities.beehiiv.com)*,* [*Spotify*](https://open.spotify.com/show/4Pt7CgOoobyMeonj5Epc3n?si=28749c287bb54000&utm%5Fcampaign=011-empathy-at-work-the-hidden-pressures-of-product-and-design&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=pixelsandpriorities.beehiiv.com)*, or your favorite platform.* There's a question I've been thinking about as we face increasingly unpredictable careers: **What if resilience isn't something we discover when everything goes wrong, but something we should be practicing long before that happens?** We're accustomed to thinking about resilience as the ability to recover from difficult circumstances. We admire people who navigate layoffs, organizational restructuring, failed projects, and unexpected career changes without losing their footing. That admiration has hidden an assumption that I want to question: some people are simply more resilient than others. In our latest *Pixels & Priorities* conversation, J and I welcomed [Brandy Schade](https://pixelsandpriorities.ghost.io/brandy-schade/), founder of Strengthology, back to explore a different perspective. Resilience isn't just a characteristic. It's a capability we can *develop* through experience, intentional action, and relationships. For those of us working in product management and UX, building resilience is important because uncertainty is often part of the job description. ### Resilience Isn't Just About Getting Back Up When Brandy asked us to define resilience, J and I approached the question differently. J described his history of taking risks, failing, recovering, and continuing forward. He's changed career directions multiple times and learned that some of his greatest opportunities emerged from decisions that initially felt uncomfortable. Though I have similar patterns in my career, I described resilience as: > "A capacity for me to bend without breaking, to find a path to recover and move forward in a productive direction." — Metsy Rose Both definitions emphasize recovery, but Brandy challenged us to look at what made recovery possible in the first place. Our experiences had taught us that we could navigate situations without knowing exactly how they would turn out. We had developed confidence by repeatedly facing uncertainty and discovering what we could do. As Brandy explained: > "You have to practice resilience in order to be resilient." — Brandy Schade That should change how we think about professional development. We don't become better at navigating uncertainty simply by understanding the concept of adaptability. We become better by practicing it. ### Confidence Is Built Through Evidence, Not Reassurance Early in my career, I was working in marketing when I noticed opportunities in software development. The work looked interesting, and frankly, the compensation was attractive. I had never written code professionally, but I heard a training leader tell employees that he could teach them to become developers. So I decided to take him up on it. I enrolled in a nine-week development boot camp, completed it, and returned to teach the next class. That experience helped establish a pattern I would repeat throughout my career, including my eventual move into product management. I didn't need to know everything before starting. I needed a willingness to learn and enough confidence to take the first step. Brandy helped me recognize that the foundation for this approach started even earlier. In high school, I joined color guard despite having no background in the activity. I eventually became captain, lead the team to win competitions, and discovered leadership abilities I hadn't previously recognized. Those experiences became evidence I could draw upon later. Brandy summarized the importance of this kind of learning: > "I think the key point here is that you don't build confidence in your ability to figure it out by not doing anything." — Brandy Schade For product and design professionals, this has a practical implication. We often wait for confidence before volunteering for unfamiliar responsibilities, learning new technologies, or pursuing different career paths. Sometimes confidence follows action rather than preceding it. ### Failure Is Information, Not Identity J shared a particularly memorable story about entering the animation industry. He had an opportunity to create a two-dimensional animation for the U.S. Postal Service, despite having limited resources and little formal animation experience. Without a computer or professional animation equipment, he worked using natural light from his apartment window. That early opportunity eventually contributed to a career that included owning an animation studio, establishing a nonprofit for creative professionals, and representing animation, gaming, and motion graphics interests in Texas. The important part of that story isn't that every risk produces an extraordinary outcome. It's that taking the risk creates opportunities to learn things that would otherwise remain unknown. Brandy described the perspective she heard in J's story: > "When you take a big risk, you either get a big payout or you get a big learning, and you value both." — Brandy Schade That connects directly to product discovery and UX research. We regularly test hypotheses that don't hold up. A prototype could fail usability testing, or a feature doesn't generate the expected adoption. Customer research challenges a strategy the team was confident about. Those outcomes can be disappointing, particularly when people have invested considerable time and professional credibility. A failed hypothesis is not the same as a failed professional. J discussed the distinction in terms of examining an unwanted result, understanding why it occurred, and deciding what to try differently. **The real opportunity is to separate the outcome from our identity.** That doesn't mean celebrating every failure. It means being willing to learn from it rather than allowing it to define what we're capable of doing next. ### Resilience Requires Both Capability and Capacity One of the most important distinctions Brandy introduced was between resilience capability and resilience capacity. **Capability** refers to the skills and experience we've developed to navigate difficult situations. **Capacity** refers to the resources we have available to apply those skills. Someone may have extensive experience navigating organizational change, difficult stakeholders, and uncertain business conditions. They may also be emotionally exhausted, physically depleted, or overwhelmed by several challenges occurring simultaneously. Brandy pointed out... > **Even strong resilience skills can be compromised when a person's capacity is depleted.** We sometimes interpret someone's previous ability to handle difficult situations as proof that they can continue absorbing more. The reliable employee gets another urgent assignment. The experienced product manager inherits another troubled initiative. The designer who consistently delivers under pressure becomes the person everyone depends upon during a crisis. Past resilience doesn't guarantee unlimited capacity. As leaders and teammates, we should be asking not only whether someone knows how to navigate a challenge, but whether they currently have the resources and support to do so. ### Resilience Is Not a Solo Achievement Much of our conversation focused on individual action, but I wanted to explore something else. What role do relationships and community play in resilience? Brandy's answer was immediate: > "It's huge, especially as you take on bigger and bigger things." — Brandy Schade She described the importance of developing relationships with trusted friends, experts, partners, and people who genuinely want to help. When we encounter unfamiliar situations with high stakes, having someone experienced to turn to can change how manageable those situations feel. That doesn't eliminate difficulty. It changes how we navigate it. This is particularly relevant in product management and UX because our work is inherently collaborative. We depend on researchers, designers, engineers, business leaders, subject matter experts, and customers to understand problems and make informed decisions. Why should we approach our own professional resilience differently? Developing a strong network isn't merely about finding the next job or building visibility. It's also about creating relationships where people can exchange knowledge, ask for help, and support one another when circumstances change. And that support should be reciprocal. ### How Can Product and UX Professionals Practice Resilience? If resilience develops through experience, we can become more intentional about creating opportunities to practice it. A few approaches from our conversation are particularly applicable: - **Take manageable risks.** Volunteer for unfamiliar work, experiment with a new skill, or explore an opportunity that stretches your existing experience. - **Reflect on what you've already navigated.** Identify situations where you learned something difficult and successfully applied that learning later. - **Separate outcomes from identity.** When something doesn't work, examine what happened and what you would change rather than making it a judgment about yourself. - **Pay attention to capacity.** Recognize when exhaustion or competing pressures make it difficult to apply skills you already possess. - **Build relationships before you need help.** Invest in communities and trusted professional connections while things are going well. These aren't guarantees against hardship. They're ways to develop greater confidence, adaptability, and support for navigating what comes next. ### Questions for Reflection 1. What experience from your career gives you evidence that you can navigate something unfamiliar? 2. Are you currently building your resilience, or relying on capacity you've already exhausted? 3. Who could you turn to when facing a challenge that exceeds your experience, and who could turn to you? ### Key Takeaways - **Resilience is practiced.** Repeated action helps us develop confidence in navigating unfamiliar situations. - **Confidence often follows experience.** We don't always need certainty before taking a meaningful step. - **Failure can provide useful learning.** An unsuccessful outcome doesn't define our professional identity. - **Capability and capacity are different.** Experience doesn't make anyone immune to exhaustion. - **Community expands resilience.** Trusted relationships help us navigate challenges we shouldn't have to face alone. ### Final Thoughts Product and UX professionals are accustomed to working through ambiguity. We make decisions with incomplete information, learn from unexpected outcomes, and adapt when circumstances change. Sometimes, we don't apply those same principles to ourselves. My conversation with Brandy and J reminded me that resilience isn't about proving we can withstand endless pressure. It's about developing the skills, confidence, capacity, and relationships that help us navigate uncertainty without expecting ourselves to have every answer. And perhaps most importantly, it's recognizing that asking for help is compatible with being resilient. **We can be capable, adaptable, and experienced while still needing other people.** 🎧 Listen to **031 - Resilience Is a Practice, Not a Trait** on your favorite podcast platform. I'd also love to hear your perspective: **What's one experience that changed your confidence in your ability to navigate uncertainty?** – Metsy Co-host, *Pixels & Priorities* ### **Stay Connected** 🎧 Listen to new episodes every Tuesday on [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pixels-priorities/id1888767923?utm%5Fcampaign=011-empathy-at-work-the-hidden-pressures-of-product-and-design&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=pixelsandpriorities.beehiiv.com), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/4Pt7CgOoobyMeonj5Epc3n?si=28749c287bb54000&utm%5Fcampaign=011-empathy-at-work-the-hidden-pressures-of-product-and-design&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=pixelsandpriorities.beehiiv.com), or your favorite podcast platform. Please leave us a rating, submit a review, and share with a friend. It helps more people find the show and join the conversation. Connect on LinkedIn: [Metsy Rose](https://www.linkedin.com/in/metsy/?utm%5Fcampaign=011-empathy-at-work-the-hidden-pressures-of-product-and-design&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=pixelsandpriorities.beehiiv.com) | [J Schuh](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschuh/?utm%5Fcampaign=011-empathy-at-work-the-hidden-pressures-of-product-and-design&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=pixelsandpriorities.beehiiv.com) | [Pixels & Priorities](https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixels-and-priorities-podcast/?utm%5Fcampaign=011-empathy-at-work-the-hidden-pressures-of-product-and-design&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fsource=pixelsandpriorities.beehiiv.com)