Commonsense Ways to Make Sure You Adapt

“Conditions are always changing, and real peace lies in the ability to adapt to these changes.” – Mingyur Rinpoche

When things don’t seem to go right, what’s your first thought? Do you just give up or do you vow to try a different approach? If you ditch the effort simply because you’ve run into difficulty, you’re not only giving yourself a reason to call yourself a failure (albeit mistakenly), you’re also depriving yourself of the opportunity to learn.

Learn to expect change — it’s part of life.

Nothing in life stays the same. Everything is always in a state of change. To the extent that you can recognize this and make peace with it, and then find the flexibility to be able to adapt to changing conditions, is how well you’ll be able to continue to make progress toward life goals.

Indeed, when you discover — and embrace — your ability to be flexible, all things are possible. That’s because the realization that there are other ways to go about dealing with what happens in life and to find ways around seemingly impossible hurdles makes you stronger, more self-confident and satisfied. It also greatly enhances your perception of your abilities.

Cultivate the talent to overcome obstacles.

Consider that overcoming obstacles is quite a feat. When you couple that with the pride you feel in being able to analyze and put together a workable approach or solution, you wind up with a positive outcome overall. This satisfying result adds to your motivation to tackle the next item on your list, to go for another goal that may be a bit more challenging.

This ability to overcome obstacles doesn’t come about automatically, yet it is a talent you can cultivate. Granted, it may seem like a losing proposition, especially if you don’t see results right away. Instead of losing hope, keep on going.

What about when you’ve struggled to adapt to changing conditions and come up short? Suppose you haven’t been able to figure out a way around them or couldn’t determine a workable approach? Is this a terrible thing? Does it mean you’re destined to forever be at the end of the line when it comes to accomplishments? Not at all. What it does indicate, however, is that you may yet harbor some unforgiving thoughts about your own abilities. You may, for example, not trust your instincts or you might not believe you’re capable enough to take a calculated risk.

Tips to help you better adapt.

Everyone loves tips, life hacks, as they’re currently called, simple and readily understandable ways to get around obstacles, overcome setbacks and get on with living. Keep these tips on adaptability in mind to gradually improve your abilities in this all-important area.

• You are capable. You just haven’t allowed yourself the freedom to try. What’s the worst that can happen? If you stumble, you’ve learned something. If you make a little progress but don’t go all the way toward your goal, you’ve still made some strides. And you’ve learned you’re capable of doing what it takes. These are positive outcomes that should take the sting out of not being able to fully adapt to changing conditions – at least, right now.
• Strive for learning something new every day. Give yourself the latitude to revise and adapt as you see fit, or as changing conditions may warrant. Before long, you’ll find that you’re able to see alternatives and options and you’ll make your decisions based on instinct, skill, knowledge and creativity. This will bring about a greater peace of mind as well.
• If something worked well before, consider revisiting it. Why throw out a workable solution when all it may take is a slight tweaking of the approach so that it fits the current situation or problem? There’s no need to completely reinvent when an effective solution is available.
• Be willing to brainstorm ideas with your network of loved ones, family and friends. Toss ideas around on the best ways to approach problems and issues that nearly everyone experiences. Not only will this activity make the problem seem less intimidating, you might be intrigued by what you hear. At the very least, you’ll come away with more ideas than you went in with. Collective sharing is a terrific way to devise creative solutions to problems.

from World of Psychology https://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2017/05/10/commonsense-ways-to-make-sure-you-adapt/