How I’m Designing My Own Resilience Plan for 2025
Introduction: Why Resilience Matters in 2025
I don’t know about you, but recently the world has felt more uncertain than I’ve ever known it — economic instability, climate events and extreme weather, political shifts, supply chain issues, and digital vulnerabilities are all a little too common for my liking. And no, before you ask, I’m not just talking about what I read in the media 🙄 I’m also talking about what I’m experiencing first hand, and what I’m hearing from people in many places around the world.
Rather than living in fear, I’ve decided to take practical, actionable steps to build resilience. After all, and as you may already know, resilience has been the central point of my professional life for over 12 years, as well as being a conscious part of how I choose to live.
But this has mostly been focused on personal physical resilience (strength, fitness, flexibility), and personal mental resilience (mindset, adaptability)… recently I’ve realised this approach alone is missing some quite large chunks.
Resilience literally means being able to handle adversity, bounce back, and adapt. Physical and mental resilience is important, but there’s more to it…
This isn’t about prepping for the apocalypse, building nuclear bunkers and stockpiling gas masks; it’s about functional resilience — the ability to adapt, stay strong, and maintain control over key aspects of life no matter what comes.
This year, I’m structuring my resilience efforts around three key areas: Personal, Material, and Social. Each has subcategories to help break things down into clear, manageable action points.
The Three Pillars of Functional Resilience
1. Personal Resilience (Your own ability to stay strong and adaptable)
Physical: Strength, endurance, mobility, and overall health.
Psychological: Stress management, mental agility, emotional resilience.
Skills: Practical skills that improve independence and adaptability.
2. Material Resilience (Your environment, assets, and resources)
Home: Repairs, energy security, food & water storage, shelter improvements.
Transport: Vehicle maintenance, alternative travel options, fuel security.
Financial: Debt management, savings, income diversity, valuable assets.
3. Social Resilience (Your network and ability to collaborate)
Engagement: Strengthening local connections, supporting mutual aid.
Planning: Creating contingency plans for various scenarios.
Communication: Staying connected, knowing where to turn for reliable information.
My Focus Areas for 2025
Each of these categories feeds into my resilience plan. Here are some of my specific priorities and projects for the year:
Personal Resilience Goals
🛠 Physical: Keep training short but effective (20-30 mins max) to balance fitness with chronic illness. Focus on functional strength, endurance, and mobility.
🧠 Psychological: Better stress management, improved sleep, and practicing adaptability through exposure to challenge.
🛠 Skills: Expanding practical skills - DIY home repairs, gardening, vehicle maintenance, and self-sufficiency projects. Stuff I’ve avoided learning since, like, forever.
Material Resilience Goals
🏡 Home: Improve energy efficiency, repair greenhouse & polytunnel, enhance food-growing efforts using permaculture principles.
🚙 Transport: Keep my Freelander well-maintained, learn more about basic vehicle repairs, and build a car emergency kit.
💰 Financial: Track debts/assets monthly, increase savings, and look into investment opportunities that align with long-term resilience (and personal values).
Social Resilience Goals
🤝 Engagement: Reconnect with my local community, revive past neighbourhood initiatives like ‘Soup Nights,’ and expand collaboration on resilience projects.
📝 Planning: Create emergency preparedness plans covering food, water, power, and communications.
📡 Communication: Develop better digital security, experiment with alternative comms like Telegram groups, and ensure reliable info sources.
How I’m Tracking My Progress
Rather than just ‘winging it,’ I’m keeping structured check-ins:
✅ Quarterly reviews: Reflect on what’s working, adjust goals.
✅ Practical tests: Trying real-world applications of resilience skills (e.g., a weekend relying only on stored food, power cuts, or limited transport).
✅ Community involvement: Sharing the journey to inspire, learn from others, and build momentum. Kinda what I’m doing here, I guess…
This isn’t a rigid system — it’s an adaptive framework. As I learn and evolve, my approach will too.
Want to create your own resilience plan? I've put together a structured worksheet to help you design, track, and refine your approach. Paid subscribers can find it below, so keep scrolling.
Paid subscribers can also leave comments, so if you’re on a similar journey, let’s compare notes! What’s your top priority for resilience this year? Drop a comment below! ⬇️
Not a paid subscriber? It’s just £6 per month and you get a ton more value, as well as helping me keep putting this together to help more individuals and communities to build their resilience. It may not seem like much, but your support really does mean a lot to me 🙏🏼
Big love,
Jay
Build Your Own Functional Resilience Plan
Resilience isn’t just about surviving - it’s about thriving despite uncertainty. Whether it’s preparing for economic shifts, supply chain issues, or just wanting to feel more capable and secure, having a structured plan makes all the difference.
📌 This worksheet helps you:
✔ Identify strengths & gaps in your personal, material, and social resilience.
✔ Set clear, actionable goals for 2025.
✔ Track your progress and refine your approach over time.