Building on that, modern psychology often treats resilience as adaptive capacity rather than invulnerability. Ann Masten’s research describes resilience as “ordinary magic,” emphasizing everyday protective factors—supportive relationships, problem-solving, meaning-making—rather than superhuman toughness (Masten, 2001). Gadsby’s idea aligns with this: bending isn’t a moral weakness; it’s a workable survival strategy.
Even stress science supports the metaphor. What breaks people is frequently not the presence of stress, but prolonged stress without recovery or support. Yielding, in this sense, can be a form of recovery—an intentional choice to reduce strain so the self can remain coherent. [...]
