Under extensive disruptions faced in recent years, small and medium enterprises (SME) were hit hard. Due to their limited access to financial and human resources, SMEs tended to move into reactive mode motivated by survival orientations. Some SMEs ceased to exist due to the financial consequences of the disruptions while others have survived the wave through a combination of applying ad hoc adaptation solutions, support from partners or government bodies. Now that the pandemic is over but different forms of supply chain disruption are occurring and eminent, SMEs aspire for a more proactive preparedness for inevitable disruptive events. Learning from survival through recent unanticipated disruptions gave many SMEs the motivation to think about how to strategically foster their disruption management capabilities for the unpredictable future. Through conceptual argumentation and compilation of evidence from empirical research in the field, this paper discusses, and outlines patterns of shifting SME demands and ambitions for a more proactive resilience capabilities for dynamic competitiveness in the future. Associated circumstances enabling and inhibiting this aspired shift are presented too.