Kanisa George
I HAVE always said and still genuinely believe that humans are remarkably resilient. Surviving famine, wars, pandemics and all the other gruesome things that accompany human existence isn't for the faint of heart, yet we endure.
We endure even when faced with adversity, mental anguish and, above all, the wrath of our fellow man.
At the end of it all, the power of adaptability defines us; a strength so dynamic that if we pay attention to its superiority, change and unpredictability will feel like a walk in the park.
Tapping into adaptability in difficult, stressful situations can seem just as challenging as the situation itself. Because the timing of tricky, complicated situations usually presents itself when we most need to learn, change and adapt, how we respond can either make or break us.
Often, in these uncharted, precarious moments, our old approaches aren't best suited for growth, and adapting instead of resisting might be a more valuable ally.
Adaptability, says family therapist Nick Bognar, is the ability to integrate new information and circumstances while adjusting your behaviour accordingly. The skill of adaptability is particularly important when juxtaposed against the unpredictability of life.
Because we aren't always the conductor of our symphony, trying to change the outcome and control things usually isn't at our command. What we do have control over, however, is our response to the circumstances life throws at us.
While regarded as an innate quality for some, adaptability is a skill that, once tapped into, can be implemented by anyone. Yet still, we avoid it.
We demand that things remain the same, for perhaps the exact reason we don't immediately lean towards adaptability; change can cause significant discomfort.
Therapist Sue English believes humans are biologically wired to detect and respond to potential threats within our environments. Until we allow ourselves to build trust in our new situation, we might regress to maladaptive patterns of avoiding change. Depression, rejection and denial usually become the order of the day, which can worsen when the discomfort of staying in the known becomes a reality.
The result of this stagnation can mean lost opportunities, limited personal growth, failed relationships and overwhelming feelings of failure - all of this on account of being scared to face the unknown.
And that's OK; we're allowed a minute to process our new reality and what that might potentially look like. What we're not allowed to do is remain in a state of stupor far longer than is necessary and derail our lives because we aren't ready to accept the path that lies before us.
An exciting feature of adaptability forces us to adjust our expectations and deal with reality as it comes. This can potentially reduce the development of unhealthy habits and prevent rigidity from setting in. Adaptability, one writer observed, opens up your mind to new ideas, makes you question the status quo, and gives you the willingness to go against convention.
Guy
