Resilience Through Reinvention: Rising from the Ashes of Change

By Brenda "Bre" Bardaels, PsyD (c)

Every January, I start with intention. As a doctoral researcher, Army National Guard officer, and woman determined to grow with purpose, I began 2025 with one clear goal: finish and defend my dissertation proposal. I had spent months studying leadership and psychological safety to understand how people rebuild trust after adversity. What I didn’t know was that my year would become a living experiment in resilience itself.

In early January, the Palisades fires broke out across California, and my plans were instantly transformed. Overnight, I traded academic writing for field gear, answering the call to serve as part of the California Army National Guard’s response team. For weeks, our mission was to provide relief, structure, and safety amid chaos. Flames consumed not only homes but dreams, plans, and a sense of normalcy. Families were displaced; communities were shattered.

Amid the ashes, I learned what it truly means to pivot with purpose.

Reinvention Is Not Failure. It’s Evolution

In my book Not Your Average Leader, I wrote that leadership begins where comfort ends. Reinvention, like leadership, demands surrender, letting go of what we thought life should look like so we can discover what it can become.

During the fires, I learned that resilience isn’t about “bouncing back.” It’s about building forward. I carved out moments in my tent to revise my dissertation proposal by flashlight. Some nights, I wrote while exhaustion blurred the words. Other nights, I reminded myself that persistence is its own form of healing. When I finally got to come home and defended my proposal successfully, it was an academic milestone and a declaration of survival.

The truth is reinvention often begins when our old plans no longer fit the person we are becoming. For many of us women balancing careers, families, studies, or service, this past year demanded a courage we didn’t know we had. Some lost homes or jobs; others faced burnout or transitions that forced them to redefine success. I see these women not as broken but as reborn, reshaped by fire, refined by purpose.

Reflection as a Tool for Renewal

Resilience requires reflection. During quiet moments after deactivation, I began journaling, something I encourage every woman to do. 

Reflection turns experience into wisdom. It helps us see patterns, name our growth, and forgive ourselves for what didn’t go as planned.

Ask yourself: What did this season teach me? What must I release to move forward?

 The answers may surprise you. Sometimes the greatest renewal comes not from adding more to your life, but from releasing what no longer serves your peace.

The Power Within

When the fires died down, many of us began rebuilding, not just homes, but identities. I returned to my research with deeper empathy and purpose. My dissertation, which explores how destructive leadership impacts psychological safety, now feels more urgent than ever. Because resilience isn’t built in isolation; it grows in the spaces where leaders nurture trust, compassion, and inclusion.

For every woman closing out 2025 feeling weary, uncertain, or stretched thin, remember this: renewal is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Reinvention is not the end of your story; it’s the rewriting of its draft.

Sometimes life’s fires don’t destroy us, they illuminate the path to who we were meant to become.

Connect With Bre

www.notyouraverageleaderbook.com

Instagram: @Bre_At_Losal