Next, it is important to recognize that life involves a process of reciprocal determinism. The world of human ideas and experiential reality is impacted by the physical universe. At the same time, human thinking provides impetus for the events of the external world. Erickson alluded to this dynamic while referring to the centuries- old philosophy, "As a man thinketh, so he is" (Erickson and Rossi, 1979, p. 262). In the case above, the man was given a new perspective on arthritis. Erickson explains, "Although he still limps a little, he has a nice healthy attitude." In other words, the man learned to think better of his situation and adapt to his physical limitations.

Erickson used this case to illustrate the importance of accepting and finding use for the patient's disability. This is the essence of adaptation and resiliency. It can be said in very general terms that where adaptation and resiliency end, death begins.

In order not to be immobilized by life's challenges, a person must have the capacity to accept undesirable circumstances. This idea was communicated well by Tyler Hamilton, a cycling contestant in the 2003 Tour de France. During the first stage of the race, he was in a crash that fractured his collarbone. Despite intense pain he managed to complete the race and take fourth place. When asked how he was able to accomplish this remarkable feat, Hamilton said that he learned to accept the pain. Once he stopped struggling against it he was able to make the necessary adjustments in posture, balance, and thinking. This is perhaps what Erickson meant when he described rigid inflexibility as the most general problem to be dealt with in psychotherapy (Zeig, 1980).

Flexibility and adaptation are as essential to resiliency as acceptance is to learning. If a person continues to struggle and fight intractable changes to the environment, mind, or body, energy is wasted and recovery is hindered. For instance, Betty Alice Erickson recalls the case of a five-year-old boy who was traumatized after witnessing a terrible automobile accident. The little boy