The Resilience Breakthrough: 27 Tools for Turning Adversity into Action

by Christian Moore, Brad Anderson, Kristin McQuivey

A Guide to How to Bounce Back from Life's Inevitable Problems Christian Moore is convinced that each of us has a power hidden within, something that can get us through any kind of adversity. That power is resilience . In The Resilience Breakthrough , Moore delivers a practical primer on how you can become more resilient in a world of instability and narrowing opportunity, whether you're facing financial troubles, health setbacks, challenges on the job, or any other problem. We can all have our own resilience breakthrough, Moore argues, and can each learn how to use adverse circumstances as potent fuel for overcoming life's hardships. As he shares engaging real-life stories and brutally honest analysis of his own experiences, Moore equips you with twenty-seven resilience-building tools that you can start using today--in your personal life or in your organization.

Genres: Self Help, Psychology, Mental Health, Nonfiction, Book Club, Professional Development, Education

336 pages, Paperback

First published July 21, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Molly Watkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was extremely tough to get through. I was given this book by my building principal to read before we welcome Christian Moore into our district for training on his WhyTry? curriculum. I hope the curriculum for our at-risk students is much better than this book. I love the idea of resiliency and do find that it's a quality in all of us that requires awareness and implementation in order to cultivate success. However, I was too distracted by how much Christian talks about himself (I once started counted how many times "I" shows up on a page) and how he makes his own experience stand on a pedestal. He is quick to remind readers of his learning disability and uses that as the ultimate barrier to his success. It comes across as arrogant. I think his ideas ARE powerful; however, I feel strongly that the book could have been written in a much more powerful and motivational tone if he used "you" more than "I".

[Jayden Salmon · Rating 2 out of 5]

he made good points but used such bad examples.

[Corinne Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christian Moore is convinced that there is one trait that helped him overcoming a very challenging youth: resilience. By resilience he means the capacity of a person to be up against something challenging and to move forward despite pain, frustration, disappointment and rejection. In this book, Christian describes the four major kinds of resilience and specific tools that you can use within each kind that will increase your own ability to handle whatever life throws at you (or handle whatever ways you sabotage your own self).

This is not my usual type of book, I know that (yay book club!) so I had to push myself to read it. I think that there is some good stuff in here, some practical ideas that will stick with me (the idea of radical acceptance, the idea that just because we don't WANT to do something doesn't mean we CAN'T and that utilizing our well of resilience will help us move forward with power), some good stuff.

Here's my beef though: it's REPETITIVE. I mean, sometimes the exact same sentence is written twice, three times, on one page, like we had to beef up the page count. I also had a hard time really believing the stories that didn't include a footnote, I don't know why, I found my thoughts wondering if they were true. It's a bit top heavy on personal stories that showcase him as so super duper resilient, and while I know he's the expert, it still grated on me for whatever reason.

SO. Bottom line. Good stuff, which I'd had the cliff notes version.

[Jarai]

The Resilience Breakthrough by Christian Moore is a power book that explains what resilience is, and how to get it. Throughout the book, he uses many personal experiences to help teach what resilience is. In his book, he splits resilience into four categories and covers each in depth. Overall, I loved reading this book. What the author teaches is one thing that I feel really strongly that often lacking in our society. And as previously mentioned, he goes to explain how to be resilient. He specifically addresses this problem, stating that other books only state the qualities of resilience, but his does. I found his book to be eye opening and it brought me lots of perspective on life and how you can react to it when situations are not the best. I would recommend this book to anyone I can, as I’m sure that although they may not like reading it, they can most certainly benefit from doing so, even if only a bit. Out of 5 stars, I would give it a 4.8 as it was a book worth every second of my time.

[Tara Brabazon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't want to like this book. It is based in relatively conventional social work-based definitions of resilience. But what does make it - actually - a gripping text are the author stories shared throughout it. Christian Moore - like many of these motivational speakers- is a fascinating man and knows how to turn a life event into a metaphor and model. His experience of education is inspiring.

As to the tools presented for resilience - yes they are fine. May help create some personal movement and decision making. But the book is stronger because it is well written and the author is an interesting person. That makes it worth the price of entry.

[Avolyn Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways this is the book I've always wanted to write. I've believed for quite some time that adversity and resilience are key factors in determining ones success. There truly is no greater fuel than someone telling you that you can't do something. My natural response tends to be "Watch me!" and Christian couldn't have summed up my entire theory more perfectly than he did. For that reason I'm not sure why I'm compelled to only give this book 4 stars, perhaps it's because I had to read it on my phone when I'd much rather read this type of book in hard copy to easily highlight and take notes. Regardless, I highly recommend reading this book. Hopefully through reading this book you'll learn to appreciate your setbacks as gifts.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this and learned so much truth! It resonated with me and made me want to work on being more resilient in the different areas he mentions. No excuses for what life through our way! Resilience is power and we get to put that power to use if we choose to.

[IsaihBarron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some time ago, earlier this month, I had a question on what motivated people to change. In other words, where does resilience come from, what motivates people to be resilient and change? Originally, I thought one being “tired” of the situation they are in motivated them to change the situation, although it was a vague idea. Funny enough, this book answered the question. Christian Moore, the author of this book, describes four fuel sources for resilience, and they include street resilience, resource resilience, relational resilience, and rock-bottom resilience, and how one derives resiliency from these. Christian Moore also speaks about a growth mindset a bit and I believe that's perhaps the most important component one needs to be resilient, grow, and change. There’s a lot more interesting things in the book as well, like Flipping the Switch or the Broken Window Theory. Earlier, before I read this book, I came to the same conclusion as the Broken Window Theory and it’s nice to see that I wasn’t wrong.
The Resilience Breakthrough by Christian Moore is a really good book. I recommend it to anybody, and even encourage some to reread and expand upon the ideas (it’s always good to remember good things). The book teaches ideas that everyone should know since everyone is inevitably going to feel positive and negative. Moore gives good stories that, not only helps us to understand resiliency better, but to understand the world better. Christian Moore stated that anybody that is taught and understands resilience “could have an advantage over a student at Harvard” and I believe that’s true. One who is resilient is far more successful than an unresilient Harvard student. There’s many things in the book that I agree with, especially the idea that pain isn’t a reason to give up, instead it’s a reason to be resilient and change. Now I bet some of you guys might understand resilience to some degree, but regardless if you understand it, you should still read the book since it allows one to gain better understanding. I would rate this book four out of five stars.

[AriannaParker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Resilience Breakthrough is packed full of useful and relevant information. One of the coolest things I learned was that there are so many approaches we can take to get back up when we are knocked down. There are so many that I never thought of. One of the things that was discussed later in the book is the Broken Window theory, where if there is one thing that gets broken or damaged and left that way, other things will continue to be left undone and unfixed. This can be applied into resilience in the way that we cannot just sit and wait for things to work themselves out. If we sit and wait, entropy will follow. I never thought about that before. Sometimes it can be really hard to keep working on things when you are going through a rough time, but, like the Broken Window Theory implies, things will get worse if you don’t get up and start working.
This was a really great book. It takes some common approaches to dealing with problems, and puts a twist of resilience on them. Moore gives scenario after scenario of different ways to show resilience in different situations. He also gives a lot of helpful tasks, that go along with what the book was discussing, to help you come to further understand the principles taught. Moore also shares many personal experiences that are really touching. These experiences that he shares helps you to understand where Moore is coming from and what he means by the definitions and explanations of resilience that he gives. Resilience is a really powerful principle and is useful for everyone, no matter what stage of life you’re in. This book was an eye opener and I would recommend it for anyone who is trying to look at problems and life in general in a totally new way. I rate it a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start off by talking about what I did not like about this work. What prevented it from getting a five star rating. It had less to do with the message of the book and more to do with the author. Christian Moore comes across as a person that would really piss me off. His is a great story, and as someone who similarly struggled I tip my cap to him for struggling through his own adversity to become what he is and help so many people. That being said, there are several anecdotes he uses in this book to drive home his points in which he makes himself out as the star, and I often found myself thinking that if I had been there I might not have handled it well. You will have to read this to understand the stories and what I mean. And I do recommend you pick this up.

Despite my annoyance (I recognize I am a jerk) I am considering this for a work book club selection for next year. While the concept of resilience may seem like a touchy-feely idea that may be uncomfortable to us, it is one of great importance. It is something that affects us all in one way or another throughout our lives, yet something we do not give enough attention to. Moore breaks down resilience into four parts: Relational, street, resource and rock-bottom. It was this last that I spent so much time on. Many of these concepts are things I have been taught throughout my life, and are about more than just the self. What are we doing to pick others up in their times of need? And what does that service do for our own ability to cope and regenerate?

[Cheyenne Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Majority of the time I prefer to read fiction. Whether it be historical, realistic, or science, I enjoy most fiction books. I do not often read informational books, as a lot of the time they seem to bore me. However, The Resilience Breakthrough intrigued me, so I figured why not try it out. While it was a bit hard to continue to read the book and not just move onto another book that I would rather read, I am glad that I decided to read the book. However, I still prefer fictional books. They help my mind be able to have creative thoughts, and keep me interested throughout the whole story. I am still going to continue to read fictional books.
The Resilience Breakthrough was a very interesting book. As a teen who is going through many struggles myself, this book taught me ways to cope with them. I appreciate the time and effort Christian Moore put into the book, and his own personal experiences as well. I believe that through reading his own experiences I was able to feel a closer connection to him. The way he simply worded things made it a lot easier for me to understand the things he was trying to teach. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, whether they be a kid, teen, young adult, or adult. There are many great lessons within this book that could be beneficial to anyone who would be willing to take the time to read Moore’s book. This is definitely a five star book.

[Erin Oh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Resilience Breakthrough was surprisingly enjoyable and not to mention, very motivational. The author, Christian Moore, talks about the importance of resilience and something called “Flipping The Switch”. Flipping your switch is basically when you use negative energy as fuel and further motivating yourself, something Christian explains very well. He gives a ton of tips on how to access these fuels. He also involves his own personal life stories which help sort of implement these techniques into your own life. Quotes from other researchers and famous individuals are also included to give more background information. This gives proof that these skills actually work, something that I am usually skeptical about. But most of all, this book really did have an impact on me. I now feel like I have a more open-minded outlook on life and a more positive mindset. More importantly, it gave me a form of motivation. Christian lived with a mental learning disability all his life, but he grew over that and instead overcame it into who he is today. That really admires me and gives me hope. Maybe I can really overcome the cruelty of life. I hope this book would help change your aspect of how you do things.

[Courtney Mccarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I was not truly expecting to love this book as much as I did. I learned so much about resilience and how your ability to want to be more resilient can help you achieve anything that you put your mind to. This was such an easy read not dull one moment. I loved the author’s personal connections. As a school psychologist, it was amazing to see how his resilience helped him overcome his struggles when he has ADHD and learning disabilities. I think educators should read this book and I’m interested to learn more about WhyTry and how that is implemented to teach children skills to be more resilient. I would recommend this book for anyone going through a hard time in their life.
Quotes:
“Second to love, resilience is life’s most important principle”
“Don’t want to waste any energy on hiding from pain because I need every ounce of energy. I can muster to keep me resilient.” Pg 16
“Being honest about your real life challenges can create lasting connections” pg 91
“Exposure while seeking to get the whole picture view is what leads to insight and expanded perception” pg 120
“Learning is the antidote to complacency” pg 185
“The world does not owe you a living. You owe the world something. You owe it your time and your energy and your talents.” Pg 189

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Before reading this book, I strongly recommend finding a way to see Christian speak in real life. He is a powerful orator, and having his voice in my head as I read made the reading all the more impactful.

This self-help book is about failure. I know, sounds crazy, right? But as a big proponent of the Growth Mindset (Carol Dweck), I found myself nodding right along to Christian's words. Each chapter is full of actionable steps to become more resilient and could be a powerful curriculum or book club book. Our school uses Moore's "Why Try" curriculum, and his book as our theme of "Resilience" this year, and I strongly believe these are important tools to teach young people. I love the resilience self-assessment at the back of the book. It confirmed what I suspected about myself: I am a naturally resilient person. Because of this, maybe, I didn't find any of his teachings mind-blowing, but reading it through the lense of teaching my students these skills was especially helpful. Sometimes I take these skills for granted, and knowing others struggle and could use training on them has helped me integrate them in my classroom.

[Antonio]

The most interesting thing I learn wasn't just a simple fact. It was a whole concept. It's called flipping the switch. I was able of seeing all of my surroundings differently. And the most important to use what brings me down as a fuel to get me back up. And it wasn’t just that there’s more concepts and things to learn. It helped me through the hard times I had benn goignthroug. The book has great stories,a dn things to relate too. I loved this book.
I totally give this book a five out of five atr rating. Because Christian Moore in his book The Resilience Breakthrough really taught me lessons I'll never forget. And i'll use for the rest of my life. The book is really enjoyable , and fun to read. Its full of learning objectives,and small assignments.I recommend this book to anyone, because it's fun and you learn more then what you think you will.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Experiencing pain in life is unavoidable, it's how we handle the pain that makes the difference. In this externally well written book, Christian Moore identifies 4 Resilience Boosters: Relational, Street, Resource and Rock Bottom - there is even a survey to take at the beginning of the book to see where you land, I was way off of my assumption here. And he beautifully finishes with, Self-Grace - the ability to completely let go of when you fall short, giving yourself permission to be human, and keeping the comeback switch turned on for every time we need to pick ourselves up again.

Lifelong resilience is nothing more than a series of small and large comebacks - it's making the effort to pick up the ball every single time you drop it!

[LeslieNaranjo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really helpful in many ways. The author put many real life examples that people could relate to. It also helps you see things visually so you know what it looks like. I would say that he was repetitive in some parts, but you got the point of it. It makes you think of different things you can try to do or change to be more productive. Having choices you can choose from and changing them in your own way. One of my favorite parts about this book is when it would also talk about failure. It explains trial and error and not to give up instead of just telling you to do something and that you will not fail. It is an extremely helpful book and very relatable in some points. I gave this book 4.5 stars.

[Jodie Randisi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adversity is what fills our justice system with adolescents and adults who haven't practiced, or in many cases, learned resiliency. I read this book to prepare for the course I'm teaching called WhyTry for Corrections. To be honest, I gave this book away to an inmate. All I know is I'm getting another copy and rereading it! The stories tell all and show us how important it is to gain resiliency skills as soon as possible. Life is tough and then you die, after all. Best life lessons! Great read for teachers and social workers.

[Christian Flowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moore did a fantastic job on this piece. I was recommended by my therapist who saw Moore speak at a conference weeks ago. I recommend this book to anybody who wishes to learn how to better themselves by any means possible. Anybody can have success, but true success happens when you bounce back from life's curveballs; small or big.

[Nikita · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you ever get to see Christian Moore present in person, I highly recommend it!! I think the book was a little lack luster for me just because it's pretty much the same as his training, but still good. I gave it 4 stars anyway because his training is so good and, like I said, it's pretty much the same material.

[Brandi D'Angelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a nutshell, author Christian Moore shows you how to make a positive out of a negative. A couple of nuggets I gleaned:

-"Just keep doing something! Doing anything, even something small, or seemingly futile, helps me remain in control and be more resilient."

-Learn something new

-Work hard at something

-Put down that device

-Look fear in the eye

[Seit Doresi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being intentionally vague:

Give it a chance. You owe it to yourself to do something new. If you’re reading this; you may already be willing for the change. This book maybe for you to start with. Good luck with your journey ahead. :D

[Rebekah (bekahsbookshelf_24) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of this book was just ok, in my opinion. I liked the last section, which is what boosted my rating, but I felt like most of the book was a bit repetitive and focused too much on stories from the author's life rather than practical application.

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

I especially liked the chapter on Rock Bottom Resilience and the tasks to do. Seemed most useful.

[Joshua Boswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Mr. Moore gives an excellent outline of practical things you can do to increase your resilience. The Booster sessions are exceptionally helpful.

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to read it as summer reading for work. It was quite eye opening and a must read for anyone working with humans.

[Amy Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked Christian Moore's book on resilience. Lots of good take aways to implement in my life and some good tools to use with others.

[Jennifer Swan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book flows well and makes for easy reading. I sometimes struggle with non-fiction but had no problem reading this. The book offers great insights on resilience, with concrete suggestions. It ties in well with "growth mindset." I found this book applied to myself personally, to me as a parent, as an employee and as a school counselor. Great book.

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really, really great book. I read it because I heard the author give a speech at a conference and I thought it was one of the best speeches I had ever heard (I've heard a few in my lifetime!) This book has so very much to tell one about how to live one's life in the strongest way possible. I rarely read self-help books (guess I think I know it all) but this one is one I will keep for reference. It is more than self-help; it is self-strength! Christian talks about 4 types of resilience and how to use the challenges and what you might perceive as the weaknesses and failures of your life as fuel for resilience. I cannot think of anyone who would not benefit from reading this book.

[Kris N. Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

To preface this, I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway many, many months ago. I had intended to read it prior to the book's release, as was the original intent of giveaway, but unfortunately I've been going through a phase in my life where I have definitely needed to be resilient and that can entail using all of your energy just to exist day-to-day.

In fact, sometimes that was what made reading this book so difficult for me. I found that I didn't consider myself lacking the needed resilience at this point in my life, but I certainly know other people who seem to be. I found myself thinking less about me and more about someone else who demonstrated a lack of 'relational resilience' and 'self-grace' in the process of pushing me away. On my bad days, reading this book became a reminder of how much I am still worried about her. In that way, I am glad to have it behind me for the time being, though it has more than earned its place in my collection.

What with my copy being an ARC, it's natural to say there were a few typos scattered throughout in the version I read. However, the book was over all very well put together and I must say I'm reasonably impressed. If I were to take on a project of this nature, I would be quite flummoxed as to where I should start and how to articulate it. I feel reading this book has better equipped me to communicate with people on these topics and I can certainly think of a few people I'd like to give the book itself to.