Bamboo

Let’s start this one with a fable.

Two trees stood side by side. A towering oak and a slender bamboo.

The oak said to the bamboo, “Look how strong and mighty I am. I have stood for a hundred years, weathered every storm, and tower over all who pass.”

The bamboo replied gently, “Yes, you are tall and strong. But I don’t strive to stand above others. I prefer to go with the flow when the wind comes.”

One night, a great storm swept through. Howling wind and heavy rain. The oak tried to stand firm, but this night it cracked and fell. The bamboo, on the other hand, bent low, let the wind pass, and stood upright again by morning.

The bamboo now stood alone, having survived not because it resists, but because it flows. It holds strength in softness, and power in surrender.

It’s pretty clear why the saying: “Bend, don’t break” is associated often with bamboo. It’s actually engineered by nature to absorb pressure rather than resist it.

Strong winds certainly push it to the brink, but (if it’s healthy) it simply bends until the wind relinquishes. Strong and mighty oak trees, on the other hand, may weather some strong storms, but not all storms.

Add to this idea of flexibility an unusual fact about bamboo that I learnt just recently. Interestingly, it takes a tremendous amount of time for the seed of a bamboo tree to show promise. Sometimes bamboo can be planted and nurtured for months…. and nothing happens above ground. And then one day, the bamboo is suddenly ready and it shoots up into the sky to welcome itself to the world. Sometimes as much as a metre in 24 hours!

I love this metaphor! In a world obsessed with fast wins and instant results, bamboo is a magical reminder that real growth sometimes happens in the darkness, often when we may wonder if anything is happening at all. But it is there, quietly expanding.

So, if we’re building something meaningful right now, this is our gentle reminder to keep the faith.

Bend without breaking.

Flexibility beats force in my opinion. Because resilience isn’t about being rock solid. It’s actually about being bendy enough to survive the hit and strong enough to stand back up afterwards.

It’s a powerful image when life throws us one of those “give me a break” moments. It feels like we take one step forward and two steps back. A deal might fall through, another task lands on our already full plate, our kid gets sick the morning of a big presentation. That’s not our cue to freeze or fold. It’s our moment to breathe, reset, and move.

So next time we get sideswiped, the question isn’t how to fight it. Instead, we should try to work out how we can bend without breaking.

The thing about invisible work

Bamboo seeds test our patience. We plant them and a whole lot of nothing happens above ground (sometimes for months). But at the same time, beneath the surface, a network of roots is slowly forming.

And then suddenly, whoosh! One day it sprouts up high. It might look and feel like a bit of a magic trick but it’s just momentum after months of invisible prep.

That’s our new idea, our tinkering with new technology, our quiet consistency when no one’s clapping yet. We’re working in the background, tweaking, gaining clarity, gaining confidence.

And then it hits!

Applying this metaphor to life and work.

These two metaphors from bamboo feel particularly relevant right now in a world of change and uncertainty. Burnout is up, AI is everywhere, the pressure is on. So when that pressure hits, we must resist the temptation to stiffen and freeze. Instead, we need to flex. And when results stall, we can focus underground, quietly building our skills, relationships, and systems. That growth may not be visible yet, but it’s happening.

1. Tactical pause. When tension hits, take a pause before responding (even if it’s just 10 seconds). This moment of calm allows flexibility to lead, not reactivity. Too often that space is reduced to microseconds and we react in ways we don’t intend. Pause makes that space bigger.

2. Reframe the pressure. Switch up the “Why is this happening to me?” talk and try the “What is this teaching me?” angle. Language matters and that small shift opens the door to growth, not resistance.

3. Micro-routines. Anchor ourselves with simple, repeatable daily habits (like a 5-minute stretch or journaling). These routines act as our inner scaffolding when everything around us feels shaky. Book them in the calendar and treat them like a meeting with the CEO.

4. Track our wins. I love this cookie jar exercise, but we can also keep a ‘success journal’. These are the small wins that we jot down that are building long-term growth (even if no results yet). It reinforces that momentum is happening underground.

5. Borrow a bit of belief. Other people have gone before us, and with the modern tech like podcasts available, we can surround ourselves with voices that remind us that patience is part of progress. When our own belief wavers, let’s lean on theirs. As an example, Vince Vaughn estimates that he got rejected 999 times out of 1000 in his early days when auditioning. And yet now we all know who he is.

Bamboo doesn’t fight the storm. It flows through it.

So if things feel slow or uncertain, dig in and keep showing up, but stay flexible. What feels invisible now might be the roots of something remarkable. Something that will keep us in the game when others might break.

Until next time friends, stay resilient.

Carre @ Resilient Minds

PS - if you’re looking for a nice little podcast this week, you might like this recent one I did with Scott Raven at The Corvus Effect.