The Prevention Paradox: Why Fixing Small Frictions Builds Big Resilience
Families • Classrooms • Teams
The Prevention Paradox: Why Fixing Small Frictions Builds Big Resilience
We think resilience is forged in crisis. In truth, it’s built in the quiet — one small fix at a time.
We tend to pour our energy into moments that have already tipped into crisis — the family meltdown, the disruptive lesson, the workplace conflict that’s now “a situation.” The squeaky wheel screams for attention.
But what if the real power move isn’t firefighting? What if resilience — in homes, schools, and teams — is built by smoothing out the small, everyday frictions we usually step over on our way to the blaze?
Hero or Expert Guide? Choose Your Role Wisely
In any human system — a family, a class, a team — someone is the Hero: the person on the journey, facing the challenge. As the parent, teacher, or leader, your role isn’t to rescue — it’s to guide: sometimes as the Sage with the map, sometimes as the Defender who makes it safe enough to try again. That shift turns “Let me fix this” into “Let me help you grow through this.”
The Prevention Paradox, Simplified
The actions with the biggest collective impact often feel small at the individual level. Most problems don’t explode out of nowhere — they accumulate. Small, steady habits are the emotional shock absorbers that keep us steady when life wobbles.
Emotional Savings Accounts
Small fix: 15 minutes of Special Time — child-led, device-free, predictable.
From Crisis to Culture
Small fix: the Rolls Royce Moment — model regulation out loud, in real time.
Coach Before Crisis
Small fix: GROW in every 1:1 — Goals, Reality, Options, Will.
Quick Toolkit (Copy & Use)
Special Time Template (Families)
- When: 15 minutes daily
- Cue: same time, same place
- Rules: child-led, no corrections, full attention
- Close: “Same time tomorrow.”
“Rolls Royce Moment” Script (Educators)
“I notice… [body cue] I choose… [one breath pattern] I’ll do… [one next step].”
Wall prompt: Name it. Breathe it. Choose it.
GROW Micro 1:1 Agenda (Leaders)
- Goal: “What would make this week a win?”
- Reality: “What’s getting in the way?”
- Options: “List three routes.”
- Will: “Commitment 1–10? What lifts it one point?”
