Laying the foundations for adaptability
…it’s what you do next that counts. If there’s one thing the past couple of years has reaffirmed though, it’s that there’s one thing you can be sure of in life – sh!ts going to happen. Sometimes you can see it coming, sometimes it’s a total blindside, but it’s going to happen. When we accept that fact and instead train ourselves for adaptability, we can choose our response rather than simply react (or hide under the duvet).
When we know something’s coming we can prepare. When we don’t know what will come, what it will look like, or when it might come, we can still prepare. Our ability to deal with curve balls and drama is impacted by a number of things, many of which we can control:
Whether we’re getting enough sleep impacts our emotional awareness (within) and intelligence (without), our mood regulation, reactivity and how we respond
What we eat and drink impacts our blood sugar levels, mood regulation through gut bacteria, reactivity and how we can respond
Moving regularly helps balance our hormones and boosts our endorphin levels and sense of self-efficacy, impacting mood regulation, reactivity and how we can respond
Choosing who we spend our time with, and their own ability to deal with sh!t impacts our base line level of tolerance, resilience, mood regulation, reactivity and ability to respond
Having healthy boundaries and carving out time for ourselves impacts mood…you know where I’m going with this
“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation”
Responding versus reacting
Wherever you are at the moment it feels like there’s a new drama to contend with every day. When they come up, big or small, our ability to choose between either reacting or responding is determined by how well we’re looking after ourselves, and taking care of the basics. Nourish yourself, be around the people who role model the sort of person you aspire to be, make time for yourself, and practice saying no once in a while. It’ll make the mountains feel like the molehills they probably are.
If all else fails, when something comes up ask yourself the ‘series of five’
Will this matter in five minutes?
Will this matter in five days?
Will this matter in five weeks?
Will this matter in five months?
Will this matter in five years?
Sh!t’s going to happen. How you deal with it is entirely your choice, but you can always set yourself up to make better choices.
Life is short. Until next time take care, stay safe and be kind 🙌
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