“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” —Charles Darwin
The American Psychological Association (APA) defines adaptability as “the capacity to make appropriate responses to changed or changing situations; the ability to modify or adjust one's behavior in meeting different circumstances or different people.”
On this week's episode we ask you six questions to help you discern and determine your own level of adaptability, and think about the soft spots where maybe you could do a little better. We're being forced to be adaptive under today's pandemic conditions. No one said this would be easy.
1:56 After having to practice this very thing in a big way this week, we're talking about adaptability today on the podcast. We're defining adaptability according to the APA, and discussing whether it's a natural predisposition or a skill that can be learned.
7:43 Okay, let's dive into some questions you can ask yourself to gauge your own adaptability. Our first question has to do with your resilience, your perseverance, grit, and focus.
11:26 Are you open-minded? Do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? We discuss our second question.
14:04 Our third question: How willing are you to improvise? do your perfectionistic tendencies get in the way or your adaptability? Guess which one of us needs a little work in this area.
17:55 Question number four has to do with our cognitive, emotional, dispositional flexibility. Which of the three would you say is most important? Shelley shares her thoughts on that question.
23:55 Our fifth question discusses problem-solving. Are you someone who looks for problems, that just knows things will go wrong? Are you defeated as soon as the problem arises? Or do you get creative when problems arise?
26:21 Our last question addresses that hard space where you're not really where you want to be but there is no solution. When things are just uncertain, are you okay with it?
30:10 It really is all easier said than done. Shelley drops a big truth bomb about how all this works together in our lives.
