“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”
Alan Kay
Where did the year go? It seems that just a few months ago we were getting ready to ring in a New Year, and now we’re already almost halfway through the year.
The pace of life seems to get faster and faster. Change is truly the only constant. That may be unsettling to some, but facing the unknown and learning how to engage fully in life despite the pace of change is how we grow and step into the next great evolution of ourselves.
Learning how to be more adaptable is as crucial for teams and organizations as it is for individuals. It’s predicted that 40% of the jobs that exist today will not exist in 10 years! As an Adaptability Quotient practitioner, I am able to help my clients understand how they currently respond to change, and offer strategies to build on strengths and watch for blind spots that may derail them.
One of my favorite authors, Neale Donald Walsh, wrote a wonderful book called When Everything Changes, Change Everything. As he observes, “You’re not going to stop change from happening simply by not making any changes yourself. All you’ll do is stop change from happening the way you want it to happen.”
The good news about change, transition and learning to cope with the unknown is that it is a process that draws out the best in each of us. Getting outside your comfort zone requires you to dig deep inside yourself. It requires you to align your energy and focus with your true brilliance.
Whether it’s dealing with disruptive change at work, stepping into greater leadership roles, trying to balance professional demands and your family life, standing in the unknown is something we all need to get used to. In fact, reaching unknown territory is often the only way we get to really see how far we have already journeyed and accomplished. It is in these moments we often discover reserves of wisdom, strength and resilience we may not have known we had before.
One of my New Year traditions is to reflect on the year gone by and create some intentions for the year ahead. To help you keep your eye on the prize, I offer these 4 principles to help you align your energy and focus for success.
1. Celebrate The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
I believe we are each living out a cosmic curriculum that we wrote for ourselves, and so each part of it is necessary. The victories and the defeats alike help to shape who we are and strengthen our understanding of our life’s purpose. It’s important to celebrate it all – the good, the bad and the ugly. Sometimes the most powerful lessons are learned after the biggest pratfall or disappointment.
Reflection: What are some of the good, bad and ugly incidents from the past year? How are you now wiser and more masterful as a result?
2. Commit to Your Yes
There is simply too great an acceleration happening on the planet now for any fence-sitting or indecision. Saying “Yes!” – whether it’s to your relationship, your work, your family or your cause – means that you close any back doors and give your full commitment. Committing to your “Yes!” means taking charge of seeing how you can move ahead with your intention, even if you’re uncomfortable, unclear or on your own.
Reflection: Is there any place you have been sitting on the fence energetically? Align your energy more effectively by making a choice to either commit or de-commit.
3. Be Clear on Your No
With so much information accessible and bombarding us, it’s easy to start to feel overwhelmed. Just as it is important to discern where you want to spend your time and energy, it’s critical to be clear on your “No’s!” As one of my coaches used to say, “You need to know your No.” Otherwise you end up resentful and stretched too thin.
Reflection: What choices, relationship or situations are you tolerating right now that would free up your energy and your heart if you simply said “No”?
4. If You’re Swimming Upstream, Let Something Go
So many times in my life I have tried to fix things or right a wrong through sheer force of will. If you’ve ever tried to paddle or swim upstream, you know how that feels. No matter how hard you try, the current is against you and the river will ultimately win. But when I chose to surrender and go with the flow, inevitably new perspectives, resources and solutions almost instantly presented themselves. This is the skill of Unlearning, which is one of the 15 dimensions of the Adaptability Quotient that contribute to your adaptability.
Sometimes we’re attached to being right, or to how a solution should look. But when we cling on to a particular perspective, we become rigid. If you know you’re in a pattern of struggle somewhere in your life, see what you surrender and let go of so you can flow with the current of your life instead of fighting against it.
Reflection: Where are you experiencing any “upstream” struggles right now? What can you let go of so you could release that struggle even a little?
