During my travels over the past few weeks, I've repeatedly confronted one particular skill.
Adaptability.
Before leaving for this trip, if you asked me how “adaptable” I was, I would’ve said that I’m particular about certain things, but, for the most part, I can learn to adapt. Perhaps over the long term this is true. But when you are on your own, traveling from place to place over the span of a few days, long-term adaptability is no longer relevant. Things change quickly, plans fall apart, and swift adjustment to the situation at hand becomes necessary.
One thing I do know about myself is that I am a big planner. When it comes to travel, I like to know what I’m doing, where I’m doing it, and at what time. For the most part, this has its benefits because I’m able to efficiently see and do more things. However, a major downside to this approach surfaces when things don't go as planned.
Time and time again, I have run into issues on this trip that throw my careful, meticulous planning off course. To name a few things that have happened so far, I’ve had a flight completely canceled, my train ticket app stopped working right as I was about to board a train, and a train that I was supposed to be taking became sold out before I had a chance to purchase a ticket, meaning I had to take a much later train. This only covers a handful of transportation incidents; several non-transportation incidents have also occurred.
As more and more things like this happened, I noticed how worked up I was getting about them. I found myself fluctuating between complete calmness and panic, fueled by anxiety about the unpredictability of what would happen next. At the very least, I have now acknowledged the problem, which is always the first step towards fixing it.
So, this brings me back to adaptability, or one’s ability to adjust to changes or uncertainty. Along with adaptability is its close cousin, resilience, or the capacity to withstand difficulties or changes (aka toughness). When you’re highly skilled at adaptability and resilience, you can manage changes comfortably, all while keeping a calm state of mind.
This is something I know I need to work on, so I’ve started to develop a few practices that I believe will help me stay more level-headed the next time things veer off course:
Now you might be thinking, “Isn’t the whole point of being adaptable to go with the flow instead of always needing a plan?”
To a certain extent, yes. This is true.
However, I know myself well enough to acknowledge that I am not the type who can simply abandon all plans. Maybe it’s a little silly to have a plan when things don’t go according to plan, but if that’s what helps me stay focused, then so be it.
As the quote sometimes attributed to Benjamin Franklin goes, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
Know yourself. Know what you need to be adaptable and resilient.
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During my travels over the past few weeks, I've repeatedly confronted one particular skill.
Adaptability.
Before leaving for this trip, if you asked me how “adaptable” I was, I would’ve said that I’m particular about certain things, but, for the most part, I can learn to adapt. Perhaps over the long term this is true. But when you are on your own, traveling from place to place over the span of a few days, long-term adaptability is no longer relevant. Things change quickly, plans fall apart, and swift adjustment to the situation at hand becomes necessary.
One thing I do know about myself is that I am a big planner. When it comes to travel, I like to know what I’m doing, where I’m doing it, and at what time. For the most part, this has its benefits because I’m able to efficiently see and do more things. However, a major downside to this approach surfaces when things don't go as planned.
Time and time again, I have run into issues on this trip that throw my careful, meticulous planning off course. To name a few things that have happened so far, I’ve had a flight completely canceled, my train ticket app stopped working right as I was about to board a train, and a train that I was supposed to be taking became sold out before I had a chance to purchase a ticket, meaning I had to take a much later train. This only covers a handful of transportation incidents; several non-transportation incidents have also occurred.
As more and more things like this happened, I noticed how worked up I was getting about them. I found myself fluctuating between complete calmness and panic, fueled by anxiety about the unpredictability of what would happen next. At the very least, I have now acknowledged the problem, which is always the first step towards fixing it.
So, this brings me back to adaptability, or one’s ability to adjust to changes or uncertainty. Along with adaptability is its close cousin, resilience, or the capacity to withstand difficulties or changes (aka toughness). When you’re highly skilled at adaptability and resilience, you can manage changes comfortably, all while keeping a calm state of mind.
This is something I know I need to work on, so I’ve started to develop a few practices that I believe will help me stay more level-headed the next time things veer off course:
Now you might be thinking, “Isn’t the whole point of being adaptable to go with the flow instead of always needing a plan?”
To a certain extent, yes. This is true.
However, I know myself well enough to acknowledge that I am not the type who can simply abandon all plans. Maybe it’s a little silly to have a plan when things don’t go according to plan, but if that’s what helps me stay focused, then so be it.
As the quote sometimes attributed to Benjamin Franklin goes, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
Know yourself. Know what you need to be adaptable and resilient.
