True North Radical Resilience: The Identity Shift That Transforms Your Life, Relationships, and Work
This is a series on building True North Radical Resilience (TNRR) into your everyday life—whether your goal is to strengthen your marriage, inspire your workforce, or improve your relationship with your kids.
Why TNRR?
Because individuals, families, and organizations that root themselves in a resilient, authentic identity are far more likely to be psychologically, physically, occupationally, and relationally successful. The research is clear—and so is my experience after working with countless clients across all domains of life.
Those who have clarity about their True North—their deepest identity and core values—are better equipped to:
Handle stress and adversity
Make aligned decisions
Lead with conviction
And most importantly… live with purpose
In fact, Harvard Business Review called resilience training one of today’s greatest strategic advantages.
But TNRR is more than just a “strategy”—it’s a total life-transformer.
💡 What Does True North Radical Resilience Actually Mean?
TNRR starts with knowing your core identity and values at a deep level.
That means you:
Know where you stand
Know how to return to center when life gets chaotic
Can prioritize clearly during uncertainty
Lead yourself (and others) through adversity
But here’s where most people go wrong…
They think they’ve “done the values work”—but what they’ve really done is make a list that:
Got stuffed in a drawer somewhere
Includes 15–20 values (which makes them totally impractical!)
Came from a tool or assessment they didn’t fully understand
Was written in corporate jargon they don’t even use
Or worse, is contradicted by their actual behavior
Sound familiar?
A values list that’s never applied when your feet are to the fire is not going to build resilience.
🔍 The Danger of “Magnetic North” Living
The deeper issue? Lack of authentic identity.
Let’s look at theologian James Fowler’s model of identity development. Fowler proposed that identity exists on a spectrum—from shallow and externally formed to deep and internally aligned.
At the shallow end is Magnetic North—where your values are borrowed from family, culture, church, or environment, but not truly internalized.
People operating from Magnetic North tend to:
Crumble under challenge
Be rigid, intolerant, and reactive
Struggle with conflict and diversity
Lack clarity when forced to explain their beliefs
It’s not that they’re “wrong.” It’s that they haven’t done the work.
Fowler emphasized that a mature identity is deeply processed and internally owned.
🔎 Ask Yourself:
What do my values actually mean to me?
How do they show up in daily life?
How do they guide me when things get hard?
Are my personal and professional values in alignment?
If you can't answer these clearly, you’re not operating from True North yet.
🚨 Quick Reminder:
Saying “I am who I am—take it or leave it” is not True North. That’s insecurity talking.
True North Radical Resilience is about authentic strength, not rigidity. When you're anchored in mature values, you don't need others to agree with you to feel confident in your convictions.
🔁 When Your Values Are Aligned…
You gain the Four C’s that define TNRR:
✅ Clarity – You know exactly what matters
✅ Consistency – Your actions reflect your values
✅ Cohesion – Your personal and professional life align
✅ Conviction – You act boldly, even in adversity
This is the foundation of resilience, and the ripple effects are powerful:
Employees are more productive and resilient
Companies break records in profit and retention
Marriages grow in harmony and respect
Parents lead with clarity and love
Individuals become unshakable in their sense of purpose
Ready to Build Your True North?
Whether you're a leader, a parent, a spouse—or someone who just knows you’re capable of more—it starts with building a resilient identity.
If you’re tired of scrambling in chaos, and you’re ready to thrive when your feet are to the fire… let’s talk.
This work changes everything—and I’d love to help you do it.
In your corner,
– Dr. Andy