"We must therefore be prepared to cope—even better, to thrive—in an environment of chaos, uncertainty, constant change, and friction."
Everything has its problems. If you enroll in a math class, the first thing they do is give you math problems. Problems are a part of life. Some are a result of sin, like the thorns and thistles that accompany our efforts, and some are a result of mission, like logistics involved in conquering the world through fruit-bearing and multiplication. Problems are part of the mission and made more complicated because of the presence of sin.
Coming to terms with problems moves you from a fragile state to a place of resilience. Fragility is expecting life to go off without a hitch. Everything is fine... and then all of a sudden, it isn't! That is refusing to cope with the fact of problems... which is its own problem. Resilience is accepting the fact of friction. But that is merely the willingness to deal with the fact of problems in theory and the presence of problems in practice. That is a step in the right direction, but it has yet to reach the intended destination.
The destination is a place where you pursue problems. Fragility hopes difficulty never knocks at the door. Resilience knows better and commits to opening the door. Antifragility opens the door in order to go and invite more problems over for dinner... the right kind of problems, the ones that come with increased production.
Proverbs 14:4
Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,
but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.
It is madness to be angry at an ox for making a mess in its manger. Wisdom comes to terms with the crap that comes along with the ox. Fragility either keeps its fingers crossed for a crapless ox or kills its ox in order to avoid any more crap. Resilience accepts the fact of the crap, which is a step in the right direction. However, the destination is a place where you purposely purchase MORE oxen in order to plow MORE fields knowing full well that it will mean MORE crap in your barn.
In other words, the goal is not merely to put up with crap, but to joyfully invite as MUCH of the right know of it into your life.
James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
The goal is to thrive in times of change and friction. Many of us would do well to stop wishing for a world without difficulty and to start dealing with a world that is difficult. But we would do better to pursue difficulty and leverage it to our advantage, to grow stronger because of the opposition we face, and to invite adversity into our lives instead of merely accepting it when it tracks us down.
Proverbs 24:10
If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
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