Welcome back. In this session, I want to briefly emphasize some of the most important cautionary notes that I think it's important to keep in mind as you think about resilience either science or intervention concerning resilience. First of all, remember that no person or system is invulnerable. Remember the great lesson of the Myth of Achilles, which was the idea that no human individual can be invulnerable. Secondly, remember that resilience is renewable, but it's not inexhaustible. Any person, any system can be overwhelmed if there's enough or a long enough time of resilience. And that's important to keep in mind. And it goes along with the idea that no individualer system is in vulnerable, because any system or person can be, and any child, can be overwhelmed by enough challenge or adversity. Another caution or lesson is that one size does not fit all. There are no magic bullets that can solve all challenges. Because human life is very complex and the experiences we have are, are different and varied. And one of the great achievements of human development both culturally and biologically is our versatility. And all of the adaptive systems have that quality. They enable us to be flexible in our response to challenges. But that means that there's so much variation, that when we think about resilience and what to do we have to keep in mind, there's a lot of individual differences and lot of cultural differences, a lot of system differences. And we have to think about resilience, from the point of view of versatility and flexibility. As we plan what we're going to do to try to promote resilience. Next, there's more than one way to, manifest resilience there's one path of resilience not a single way. There's no best road. There're many possible ways to achieve good outcomes in life. And I think it's important to keep that in mind. And that also is the effect of many different influences, that make it possible for humans to manifest resilience. Many interactions, many systems coming together in shaping a human life. But it means there could be many different pathways that could come out with a similarly positive outcome. I think it's important to keep in mind, as I've mentioned before that resilience can take time to emerge, and I think that's particularly the case after a long period. Of adversity or an overwhelming kind of disaster. It takes time sometimes for systems to be restored or recover enough that we can see resilience emerge. And I don't think you can expect resilience to emerge in the midst of overwhelming adversity in a young child. Sometimes you have to change the experience and opportunities of a child, before you can give resilience a chance to emerge. This one I've put very simply, remember that, to remove the land mines before you build the school. Certainly, it's important to add resources and build positive experiences into a child's life. But you can, all the work you do can be undermined if you don't take care of very dangerous risk factors and adversities. And I think this is a good metaphor for that. You don't want to build your beautiful, new school building at the end of the war on top of a field where there's still land mines buried. You want to make sure you get the land mines out before you build the beautiful, new school. Is that can promote the resilience of the children as they recover from war. Keep in mind and I've said this before adaptive systems can be hijacked. Although we think of the ordinary magic systems the basic human adaptive systems,. It as having a great deal of positive potential to promote human development and resilience in the midst of adversity, these same adaptive systems can be misdirected at different kinds of goals, and that can happen in different ways. For example, your brain. And these wonderful powerful reward systems that motivate learning can be hijacked by drug addiction, that's a kind of chemical hijacking and it's also the case that the talents and adaptive systems that could promote positive functioning in children can be misdirected if children are persuaded. By gang leaders or anybody else to engage in, in behaviors that you or I or the society might not approve, might not approve of. And finally, I think it's important o keep in mind that that best intended interventions. Well meaning interventions, can have surprising consequences in complex adaptive systems, like the lives of human beings. We, human beings are very complex. And sometimes, when you intervene, something unexpected happens. So it's important to keep in mind, to first do no harm. It's, you have to pay attention, to what else is going on. An intervention that helps a child at school may have unintended consequences at home. And I think it's important that we keep an eye out, for the surprises when we intervene in resilience, because sometimes when you're dealing with complex interacting systems, the you know? Well meaning intervention can have a negative effects in some other domain of functioning or at a different level of analysis. I think a good example of that is the example of antibiotics. Antibiotics can save a human life. But, if antibiotics are used by lots of people all over the world, the too much use of antibiotics can actually increase the spread of diseases as the infectious agents become resistant to antibiotics. So, just keep an eye on that. Humans and, human resilience is a complex endeavor. And when we intervene, we have to be paying attention to the surprising consequences of what we do, as well as the positive and intended and hoped for consequences of our interventions. [SOUND]
