Building Resilience One Step at a Time

In healthcare and clinical research - an industry dedicated to advancing therapies and treatments for patients - the connection between wellbeing and professional success feels especially relevant. We work in environments that demand precision, patience, resilience, and long-term commitment. We have a unique opportunity to lead by example.

Fitness has taught me that these qualities are not built overnight. They are developed through consistency, discipline, recovery, and the willingness to keep showing up, even when progress feels slow.

As someone who has completed marathons in India and internationally, including Amsterdam, I've learned that fitness is about far more than crossing a finish line. While running happens to be my personal choice, the lessons extend well beyond sport.

Whether someone finds fulfilment through running, walking, cycling, yoga, strength training, swimming, hiking, or any other form of wellbeing, investing in physical and mental health can shape how we approach work, navigate challenges, and build sustainable careers.

Success Starts Long Before the Race: The Power of Preparation

Marathons are not won on race day; they are built over months of preparation. The finish line may be the visible moment, but the real work happens much earlier - in the training runs, the discipline to show up consistently, the recovery, the planning, and the quiet commitment when no one is watching.

Fitness has taught me that consistency matters far more than occasional bursts of effort. A single strong run does not build endurance, just as one productive week does not build a career. Progress comes from repeated effort over time, from learning what works, adjusting what does not, and continuing even when the results are not immediately visible.

The same is true in our careers. Skills development, continuous learning, and exposure to new experiences prepare us for opportunities that may not yet have arrived. The responsibilities we hold tomorrow often depend on how we prepare today. Leadership readiness, problem-solving capability, confidence, and resilience are all developed before they are needed.

Preparation builds confidence when challenges arise. When we have done the work, we are better equipped to respond with clarity rather than panic, persistence rather than hesitation, and courage rather than doubt.

Preparation is not just effort in the present; it is an investment in future success.

Careers Are Marathons, Not Sprints

Sustainable success takes time. Just as marathon training is built through many steady miles rather than one fast run, career growth happens incrementally. It requires patience, discipline, adaptability, and the willingness to keep learning through every stage of the journey.

In our careers, progress often comes from taking on stretch assignments, stepping into unfamiliar situations, and learning from both setbacks and successes. Each experience builds capability. Each challenge strengthens judgment. Each new responsibility prepares us for something larger ahead.

As roles become more complex, endurance becomes as important as ambition. Preparation helps us navigate ambiguity, make decisions with incomplete information, and tackle problems we have never encountered before. It is not enough to move quickly; we also need the resilience to stay the course, the humility to keep improving, and the discipline to develop ourselves consistently over time.

This connects strongly with Fortrea’s value of Accountability. Taking ownership of our growth means being intentional about our development, seeking feedback, building new skills, and preparing ourselves for future responsibilities before they arrive.

Long-term success is built through consistent learning and development, not short-term acceleration.

Resilience and Wellbeing Help Us Navigate Complexity

Both running and work involve unexpected obstacles. No race goes exactly as planned, and no career path is without moments of uncertainty, pressure, or change. What matters is how we respond when conditions shift.

Resilience is built through experience. In running, it develops through difficult training days, changing weather, fatigue, and moments when the body wants to stop but the mind chooses to continue. At work, resilience is shaped through complex projects, competing priorities, setbacks, and the need to solve problems when the path ahead is not immediately clear.

Physical and mental wellbeing play an important role in how we respond under pressure. When we invest in our health, we are better able to stay calm during challenging situations, manage competing demands, think clearly under uncertainty, and maintain focus in a fast-moving environment.

This is especially relevant in clinical research and healthcare, where the work we do can be demanding and complex. Looking after our wellbeing helps us sustain performance while continuing to support colleagues, customers, and ultimately patients.

Wellbeing is not separate from performance - it supports it.

Forward Together: No One Succeeds Alone

Behind every marathon is a network of support. The runner may cross the finish line alone, but the journey is rarely individual. Coaches, family, friends, peers, training partners, and supporters all play a part in helping someone prepare, persist, and keep going when the road gets difficult.

The same is true in our careers. We grow through mentorship, coaching, feedback, and the opportunity to learn from colleagues. We become stronger when we collaborate across teams, share knowledge, and support one another through challenges.

This connects closely with Fortrea’s principle of Forward Together. Whether we are advancing clinical research, solving customer challenges, improving processes, or supporting patients, we achieve more when we work collaboratively. The complexity of our work requires trust, partnership, and a shared commitment to moving forward as one team.

Success is rarely an individual achievement.

Creating Space for Wellbeing and Sustainable Performance

Balance does not happen accidentally. It requires intention, awareness, and an environment that enables people to manage both professional and personal priorities. Just as training for a marathon requires time for effort, recovery, nutrition, and rest, sustainable performance at work also depends on more than capability alone.

In a global organization where teams often collaborate across countries, cultures, and time zones, maintaining energy, focus, and wellbeing becomes even more important.

People perform at their best when they have the space to invest in their wellbeing in ways that work for them. For some, that may mean running, yoga, cycling, walking, strength training, swimming, or hiking. For others, it may mean quiet time, family time, reflection, or simply creating healthy routines that support both physical and mental energy.

Organizations also have a role to play in enabling sustainable performance. At Fortrea, we understand that sustainable performance depends on more than skills, knowledge and experience alone. It is supported through flexible ways of working where appropriate, opportunities for learning and career development, a culture that recognizes the importance of wellbeing, supportive leaders and teams, Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) that help foster connection and community and resources such as the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which provides employees and their families with confidential wellbeing support.

Creating space for wellbeing is not separate from career success. It helps people bring their best selves to work, sustain energy over time, and contribute meaningfully to colleagues, customers, and ultimately patients.

Sustainable performance is strengthened when people have the space and support to care for their wellbeing.

Closing Reflection

Running has taught me that meaningful progress is rarely achieved through a single extraordinary effort. It comes from preparation, discipline, resilience, accountability, and the willingness to keep moving forward, even when the path becomes challenging.

The same is true of our careers. Like marathons, careers are built over time—not through short sprints, but through continuous learning, thoughtful preparation, adaptability, and the support of others along the way.

In an industry dedicated to advancing human health, investing in our own wellbeing helps us bring our best selves to our work, our teams, and the people we ultimately serve. Whether that journey starts with running, walking, yoga, cycling, strength training, another form of fitness, or simply making time for personal wellbeing, every step matters.

Wellbeing is not a pause from success; it is one of the foundations that makes sustainable success possible.