Adaptability
Last Tuesday I was going through some fine tuning of my mindfulness photography presentation. The presentation was happening at Joondalup Library on Thursday.
Suddenly and totally out of blue, the screen went blank and my PowerPoint never returned. All that bloody work, talk about being pissed off.
So what did I do? After a few swear words, I bit the bullet and redid the presentation. And I think it turned out better. The lesson, be adaptable.
On another similar but worse occasion, many decades ago I rocked up to an event to do a slide show and talk about our adventures in China. Just imagine my horror, when minutes before starting and with a room full expectant viewers, I realised I had left my carousel of slides behind.
So what did I do? I spent a few minutes of panicking followed by some deep breathing and a realisation that it is what it is. So I adapted to the changed circumstances and did the presentation, words only and it went fine.
My ability to adapt to fast changing situations was never more apparent than when I was backpacking around South America in the 1980s. Travelling teaches you many things and for me it was resilience, flexibly and adaptability.
A year in South America was a lesson in adaptability
Being adaptable is something that master educator and speaker David TS Wood calls his superpower.
In his podcast, David talks about how we are constantly hearing that we are living in unprecedented times of flux, unpredictability and change. But as David Wood says the truth is it’s always been that way. The key here is how much you accept that fact and your willingness to adapt to these changes and thrive long term.
I must say, unlike David Wood, I can’t claim that adapting is one of my superpowers. I still get my self worked up when things don’t go the way I want them to, but that feeling mostly doesn’t last long.
David Wood says adapt to what’s happening now. If something bad happens put a time on your mourning period as he calls it. Then move on.
If something unexpected comes along and upsets your apple cart, it’s OK to get angry or sad, but don’t stay there and dwell in in a pit of inaction. Instead, accept, adapt and change direction if needed. You never know, that adaption could change the course of your life for the better.
