Resilience starts with AQ so build your CORE and BBE GREAT

The concept of AQ (Adversity Quotient) introduced by Dr. Paul Stoltz in 1997 is something we’ve faced over the past year, not only in our chosen Nomad Work Life, but also in dealing with cancer in the family. We’ve come to see AQ as more than a theoretical construct. It’s an active, practiced skill set—a process of trial, error, and growth—that goes far beyond simply attending a workshop or discussing it at length. Building AQ requires real engagement with adversity, seeing how you respond, and then adjusting course. It’s a challenging but rewarding journey.

The author highlights the CORE dimensions of AQ—Control, Ownership, Reach, and Endurance. These are essential building blocks for navigating adversity, and they offer a solid starting point for understanding how we cope with challenges. However, through personal experience, our family has found that AQ also needs to encompass additional dimensions to capture the full complexity of resilience. Each dimension contributes its own value, but together they create what feels like resilience magic.

For us, the additional eight key traits are:

• Belief: Maintaining a positive expectation for the future.

• Buoyancy: The ability to stay afloat emotionally and mentally in turbulent times.

• Elasticity: The capacity to stretch and recover quickly from setbacks.

• Grit: Long-term perseverance and passion for goals.

• Resourcefulness: Finding creative solutions and adapting to unforeseen challenges.

• Encouragement (Social Connectedness): Drawing strength and support from meaningful relationships.

• Analysis: Breaking down problems and crafting thoughtful responses.

• Tenacity: Persisting despite difficulties and setbacks.

  
  

To make these traits easier to remember and apply, we created the acronym BBE GREAT:

• Belief

• Buoyancy

• Elasticity

• Grit

• Resourcefulness

• Encouragement

• Analysis

• Tenacity

Together with CORE (Control, Ownership, Reach, and Endurance), this framework offers a comprehensive lens through which to view and build AQ. It’s a lot to take in, but that’s the reality of building true resilience—it requires effort, practice, and commitment.

Measuring AQ: A Nomadic Scenario-Based Approach

To translate these concepts into actionable insights, it’s essential to measure AQ effectively. One way we approach this is through realistic, scenario-based methods inspired by our nomadic lifestyle.

Here’s an example:

Scenario: You arrive in a city, but your accommodation is overbooked. What do you do?

• Control: Do you panic or calmly problem-solve?

• Ownership: Do you take responsibility or deflect blame?

• Reach: Do you view this as an isolated issue or a trip-ruining disaster?

• Endurance: How do you perceive the duration and impact of this situation?

These questions assess thought processes, emotional regulation, and coping strategies, providing a practical way to understand and strengthen AQ.

By testing AQ in real-world contexts and using it as a springboard for personal development, we can move beyond buzzwords and shallow exercises to truly empower ourselves and others. This process is about more than just surviving adversity—it’s about thriving through it, growing stronger, and building resilience that lasts.

AQ has a CORE, but to truly BBE GREAT, we need to engage deeply, embrace challenges, and practice the skills that will carry us through life’s inevitable ups and downs. Building AQ isn’t easy, but it’s some of the most important work we can do.