All day, every day, you are faced with situations that require you to adapt:
You get into an accident on the way to work.
Technology fails during a major presentation.
The supermarket is sold out of your favorite break-and-bake cookies.
Beautifully though, you find ways to adapt. To problem solve. To thrive AND survive.
Your ability to adapt to any environment or situation depends on a number of things:
Creativity
If a problem presents itself, you must create a solution. One that you either know you can implement or have the strength to try implementing. It is okay to create a solution that works out in your favor; in fact, it is our natural tendency to do so. If something happens to you that you were not expecting, survival instincts set in. You ask yourself: how am I still going to get what I want/need, even though the circumstances have changed?
Resiliency
Adapting to a situation is not always easy. You must be able to bounce back from setbacks if you want to continue to thrive in any environment. You have two choices: let the obstacle take you under or let the obstacle teach you something new. Let it push you to do, say, and be things that you’ve never experienced before. It may take effort and energy to adapt to a new situation – like being newly single or losing a source of income – but adapting helps us discover what we are truly capable of achieving.
Uniqueness
You possess innate qualities, unique to you, that will allow you to adapt to any new situation. Perhaps you are a great storyteller, so when you start your first day at a new job, you know you have a lot of interesting stories you can tell to connect with new people. Perhaps you are a great listener, so when your daughter tells you she wants to attend a different school you pause and listen, instead of reacting, and before acting. One of the greatest journeys in life is discovering your innate qualities that will get you through challenging experiences. You have so much already within you, utilize it! Take inventory of your strengths and use them to adapt.
Acknowledge whatever it is that you might be going through, find ways to change what needs to be changed in order for you to thrive in this new situation, and call on your unique qualities to get you to where you need and desire to be. Stay strong knowing that adapting is a natural process you were born to complete.
Great content! Keep up the good work!