Like many fellow Londoners, I was very disappointed and saddened by the result of the UK Referendum. Despite all that, the best advice I heard is “Keep Calm and Carry On”. We make better decisions when we are calm and have a clear head. Try to put aside the strong emotion and take a few moments to think things over before springing into actions.

To round off this mini-series on adaptability, I would like to highlight the importance of humility.  In order to adapt to a new environment and/or job, one needs to learn on your own or from others.  Having a humble heart will make asking others to help and receiving help an easier task.  It also means you can humbly spend more time in picking up a new skill if it is required of you without getting frustrated which is negative.  Remember if your goal is to learn and adapt successfully, don’t let yourself, in particular your ego, gets in the way.

As  I have been focusing quite a bit on my new job as well as life coaching lately, I have not been actively promoting my book as much as I should.

To my surprise, I discovered today that I sold one copy of my book in Poland and another copy in India.  As I said before and am still sincerely believing in it, every single copy and single reader COUNT!!!  I am very happy that my book has travelled quite far and reached some people that appreciate the subject of life-long personal development and learning.

 

 

Similar to learning something new, it is important to get feedback from others on how you are progressing on adapting to a new environment and/or role. It will help you identify blind-spots and confirm strengths. As discussed in a previous blog, we should process feedback wisely. Remember to stay calm and objective as there are usually areas of improvement included in feedback. Don’t get defensive. When in doubt, take your time to ponder and reflect on it. You don’t have to respond to it on the spot.

Flexibility and being open-minded are crucial for the success of adaptability. At risk of stating the obvious – Things are different from our past and that is why we are talking about adaptability. Therefore, we probably should explore and examine new ways of doing things or simply approaching issues from a different angle. Don’t dismiss new ways of doing things without a fair and objective evaluation (it need not be a long one). You could be doing yourself (and your new team) a big favor by identifying better ways to do things.

Another key element of adaptability is the maintaining of a positive attitude and turning away from being even remotely negative. For example, it can mean not just seeing problems, but also suggesting solutions, or even better be part of the solution. It can also mean being helpful to your new colleagues and at the same time appreciative for any help offered to you.

Planning and reviewing constitute another key component of the adaptability. Even though the situation may be new to you, it can be helpful to come up with a plan (short-term, medium and/or long-term) to make sure you are making progress and doing well. The plan may include identifying your own strengths and areas of improvement as well as next steps.

Another important point related to the previous one is freeing up your existing schedule to make room for adaptation-related activities. You may need time to pick up a new skill and/or get up to speed on certain subjects. You may also need to work longer hours and/or spend more time building up new relationship at work. Allowing some gaps/buffers in your busy schedule will be helpful and wise.

Having some personal private time is critical in making adjustment and adaption to a new situation. For example, a quiet time of 15 minutes alone to reflect on your situation and how you feel is crucial in the adaptation process. Don’t rush through your busy life. Take your (personal) time.

The next step after acknowledgement is acceptance of the changes as well as the need to adapt to them. Changes come in many different shapes and forms. Sometimes they are chosen by us. But more often than not, we are affected by changes of large scale that are beyond our control. Regardless of their nature (voluntary or not), we need to face those changes and deal with them maturely. Therefore, the sooner we accept them psychologically, the better off we are in terms of planning and finding solutions.