There is one secret to success that no one mentions by name: the ability to adapt. And when you figure out how to improve yours, you’ll be on your way to greatness. So, what exactly are adaptation abilities, and how do you improve them?
Adaptability reflects your self-assurance, presence, and readiness to learn and improve.
“I seek for indicators of one certain trait,” said Natalie Fratto, a startup financier, in her TED Talk. It has nothing to do with intelligence. It’s not EQ. It’s a matter of adaptability.”
Adaptability might signify several things depending on who you ask. It’s defined by Google as “the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.”
“How well a person adjusts to the inevitability of change and a lot of it,” Natalie Fratto adds. Then there’s the straightforward flexibility and versatility, the dynamic duo that shapes adaptability.
What if a change in your life may help you achieve your goals? What if the one constant might lead to the one talent that distinguishes you from the competition?
Keep in mind that you don’t have to like or like adaptation. It’s the ability to perform and generate in a variety of ways, providing you with a broad position on a platform where you’re still growing.
What Are Adaptability Skills?
The difficulty is contained within the realm of habitual abilities. The more rote skills you have, the less thinking you have to do. However, this might lead to complacency and a failure to execute at a high level. Add versatility to your life and watch your opportunities soar.
Indeed defines adaptability skills as a broad category that includes, but is not limited to: [1]
- Communication skills
- Interpersonal skills
- Problem-solving skills
- Creative and strategic thinking skills
- Teamwork skills
- Organizational skills
These skills help you to customize your response and actions to what is necessary to impact the life and work you love.
Related: The 5 Most Essential Skills for Remote Professionals
The Appreciation
All of these abilities are necessary life skills that will help you succeed. The good news is that you can get them in your daily life.
Adapting to change and efficiently incorporating new ideas into your tasks provides up fresh avenues for accepting new challenges.
Even while change is unavoidable, that does not make it any less difficult to implement. There is a resistance to change among many of us.
When change is demanded, the majority of people flee and hide. It’s easier to do what you already know than to learn something new.
Why work harder when life can be easier? Because adaptability presents the simplicity of what makes change a not-so-invasive hurdle. If you make space for flexibility and versatility, it all leads to adaptability.
Flexibility
The capacity to bend readily without breaking and the willingness to modify or compromise are both examples of flexibility. In a circumstance or endeavor, this is where you may quickly alter and change your focus.
Your skills will exceed others’ expectations simply because of your flexibility, being able to respond with specificity to any scenario or project, if you can be flexible in your comings and goings, your calendar, and your every day.
Related: Things to Keep in Mind When Life Throws You a Curve
Versatility
The ability to adapt to a variety of functions or activities is known as versatility. This is best described as someone who wears a lot of hats.
You may have a lot of culinary experience and can prepare delicious meals not because you’re a fantastic chef, but because you can follow thorough directions. Use this quality to carry out a marketing strategy for a company.
The dynamic duos of adaptability are flexibility and versatility.
Here’s when the hard effort of just accepting change as a positive sign of adaptability pays off.
The Acquisition
Below are seven ways to develop and advance your adaptability skills. Be sure to expand your knowledge and experiment with your own strengths and weaknesses.
1. Connection Is King
There is more in the world than you. As a result, pay attention to others around you. Make an introduction if you don’t know anyone. Ask questions to learn more about the person.
You will be able to build a connection with the needs, desires, and interests of others as you learn about their needs, wants, and interests. This will help you to serve with authentic actions.
2. Escape Your Comfort Zone
You are living within your zone of comfort if you are at ease. By expanding your reach, you can go beyond the feelings of knowing and experience the freedom of growth. It’s not always what you see that you receive.
You must be willing to stand out in order to get noticed. As a result, get out of your comfort zone while also motivating yourself to help others.
Related: How to Develop and Practice Self-Regulation
3. Cheers to the Cup Half-Full
What do you notice when you look at a glass of liquid? Is the glass half-full or half-empty? The majority of individuals tend to be pessimistic and see the glass as half-empty.
When you choose to see the cup half-full, though, the story takes a different turn. It’s a combination of the good and the bad, with a focus on the positive. Don’t limit yourself to what you’ve already learned. Extend your horizons to see what’s possible.
Related: How to Live a Full Life (Without Compromising on What Truly Matters)
4. Think Outside the Box
The mind is where innovation begins. So get out of your own way and consider wider and broader possibilities. You can adjust the focus at any time.
Try something new and different to broaden your horizons. Extend the ordinary and embrace the extraordinary. There, you’ll find an unlimited attitude for increasing your flexibility.
5. Simulate What’s Possible, Not Probable
When it comes to making a change, positivity goes a long way. Change is easier to accept when there is hope. Simulate what’s possible by being a product of optimism.
Even if it doesn’t make sense after more consideration, viewing a scenario or event in a positive light helps you to continually adapt to what is feasible rather than being limited by what isn’t.
6. Infuse a Growth Mindset
A growth mentality can help you every day. However, this necessitates the eradication of a fixed mindset—the ability to see only what you already know. Take a step back from what’s holding you back and lean into what will broaden your horizons.
A growth mindset encourages you to look at a topic or activity from multiple perspectives. It’s not just about what you already know, but also about what you may envision beyond what you see.
Related: 10 Millionaire Mindset Secrets
7. Unlearn to Relearn
Unlearning to relearn is one of the most difficult components of personal development. And this is crucial for the development of adaptive skills.
It takes a lot of effort to be willing to change your prior acts in order to exercise your adaptability. Furthermore, it opens the door to further personal and professional development.
Always keep in mind that every coin has two sides. This implies that there are multiple options for completing a task. Your ability to produce is limited if you are too rooted and tied to your activities and obligations.
Make something new in whatever you do. Life isn’t about sticking to routines; it’s about embracing change and adapting to make each day better.
Related: What Is Learning by Doing And Why Does It Work?
The Application
“One step at a time leads to miles of greatness.”—Kristianne Wargo
These miles of greatness come with intention.
Take a stone, and not just any stone, but one that is smooth, sleek, and has nicely rounded edges, and has seen several seasons. Stones aren’t made to be smooth.
In the environment, they are tossed, flung, and twisted around. As a result of its adaptation to its surroundings, the stone seems buffed and polished.
You, too, can be the stone that shifts and embraces adaptability’s power. To get to the top, take the good with the bad and learn to be adaptable and versatile.
Let go of the old and welcome in the new. Change is a gift disguised as a curse. Do not treat it as if it were an illness. Expand your flexibility skills to embrace it.
You shall rise from what was to what will be here in the ocean of change.
Your presence is where you’ll find adaptability. When you get too far ahead of yourself, you lose sight of what really matters in your daily life. Trying to figure out what benefits you and gives you strength cancels out what really matters.
Be present in life’s ebbs and flows. The road may be winding, but if you improve your flexibility, deviations will no longer be a surprise, but a welcomed expectation. Because you’ve learned to adapt, change becomes easier.
With a bit of presence and adaptability, do what matters. Adaptability fosters mental and emotional freedom, allowing you to broaden your range of actions in life.