The term resource is used loosely here as anything that can be of use. So, just taking self-defense class is a way to add tools and knowledge about how to protect yourself.
For kids, resources that they can tap onto (vs trying to solve everything themselves) are parents, teachers, school principle, friends. To be able to act as a resource for the kids, parents have to listen well as well. Too often, their first response is the scolding “How many times I told you not to ….”, “How stupid can you be to ….”, “I don’t care…” etc. While most won’t talk this way to young children, I heard it too many times when parents are frustrated with their teenagers. Instead of guiding them through a mess, if it is mishandled, you are in fact taking resources away from them – even when they are in messy situations desperate for your help / guidance.
Resources have to be things you can count on and not things that you “think” you have. Take for example, the safety net for walking tight rope has to be dependable or else you will be in trouble. Or a ‘mountain rope’ that you got cheaply from the dollar store may be a fast route to heaven / hell.
Believe it or not, your ability to handle failures, pain, frustration are all useful resources. Confidence actually come from knowing that you can handle anything life throws at you. You do not tell a kid to “man up” when they cry – those teaching methods maybe how we were taught but has been proven to be ineffective for all kinds of reasons – reinforcing gender bias, encouraging suppression instead of channeling emotions and many more. If you tell them they “shouldn’t cry” when they fail at something, you are not only saying they failed but on top of it failed as a human being to have cried. A better way is to teach them the breathing method to manage pain, tell them that failing is necessary to learn any big tricks, share with them your own wipe-out / embarrassing stories.
While accumulating resources are great but if it is not balanced, you may be sacrificing other aspects of your life. For example, some people understand the importance of money and spend their whole life accumulating money and wealth and forgot about his/her family. Some understand the value of having friends but spend too much time on socializing and networking that they never have any individual time for self improvement. Some understand the value of having strong muscles but forgot about the importance of training reflex/neural/coordination and exploring effective mechanics. Every one of us can find numerous examples around us.
Besides conventional resources like punching power, endurance and many more, there are all kinds of resources potentially hidden in plain sight but you just need use it creatively. For example, things already in your pocket like keys can be used as a self defense tool. Lighted streets, places secured by default with guards and security cams (like the inside of a bank) are good places to complete a craigslist transaction.
Development of resources is important but when it comes to survival, you have to use what you have at the moment (vs something you wish you have).
Resources need to be accessible. I always tell people that resources are useless if they cannot help you WHEN you need it. For example, even if your home is worth a million dollars, it cannot use it to pay your immediate restaurant bill.
Exercise
Talking about it is just one thing, how do you train for it? Identify some often missed resources often needed to make a technique work and then how do you train / develop it.