Have you ever pruned or cut back a tree or a plant , then been shocked at how barren it looks ? Only to then watch with amazement as each branch explodes with new life ? I used to be reluctant to cut back any plant until someone told me that it is actually good for plants . It goes against everything that we think is “ healthy .” How could inflicting such trauma and stress help plants grow and , yes , even thrive ? This is just a simple example of nature ’ s fight for survival . When we prune the plant or tree , it then puts even greater energy into growing more . Having been hacked to pieces , plants and trees could decide to give in , to just shrivel up and die . But they don ’ t . The same is true for us . When things get tough , we can choose to give in or to give more , to get bitter or to get better . We can choose to mirror nature and face our problems rather than run from them . We can choose to meet the stressors we are facing and use them to help us expand our capacity for resilience and perhaps even thrive as a result .