Terri's Tuesday Tip of the Week: April 2021

Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win. - Max McKeown

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, it is the one that is most adaptable to change. – Charles Darwin

In SEAL Team Six, Wasdin (2011, 13:35) told of a time when he was eating pizza with his son and his beeper went off. Based on the message, he knew he was to go straight to the plane for his next military mission. He was not sure if the situation was a drill or the real thing. It didn’t matter. He had to adapt, change, be flexible and implement. He took his son home, could not answer any of his wife’s questions about where he was going and left to go to the cargo plane not knowing when he would be back home.

Similarly when the author went sky diving with a Navy SEAL many years ago, he told a story like this situation. The SEAL had taken his wife out to dinner and his beeper went off. He saw the code and he left dinner. His wife was stranded without a way home and no way to pay for dinner. Today, this would not be a problem with cell phones, Uber and the various means we have to access cash. However back in the 90s, life was very different.

What is the mental toughness technique that is used by Navy SEALs and can be developed by the reader? The author defines this as adaptability, flexibility or embracing change. Navy SEALs are able to change at a moment’s notice and adapt to accomplish the mission. They learn this skill in training and implement in all aspects of life.

For the author, she is very organized and likes order. Having to pivot at a moment’s notice is not always easy for her. Her current life situation has caused her to become more flexible with implementing requests at the office, continual change and maintaining friendships. It is not easy for her because she likes peace, quiet and order. Here are some ideas the author has implemented to help her adapt and remain peaceful:

Complete all tasks each day so when change comes the next day it is easy to pivot to the new plan/task.
Keep to-do lists to remember tasks not accomplished and return to tasks to complete when time permits.
When establishing a program/party/event, consider potential challenges that could arise and plans on how to handle them.
Stay calm when forced to pivot to a different task/situation/project. Refocus to accomplish the objective. Intellectual flexibility indicates openness to take in new information, analysis and implement change.
Throughout the day, place appointments on the calendar to accomplish tasks during certain times. This switch of tasks will help develop adaptability and flexibility in situations.

When you practice adapting to the small changes, you’ll be better prepared to deal with the large inevitable changes that come your way. - Amy Morin, 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do: Take Back Your Power, Embrace Change, Face Your Fears, and Train Your Brain for Happiness and Success

ACTION: What can you do this week to practice adaptability, flexibility and embrace change in life?

Resources

· Wasdin, Howard E. (2011). SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper. [Audiobook] Blackstone Publishing.

· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyJ_hhninDw

· https://www.bradford.ac.uk/careers/develop-skills/adapt-flex/

· https://drexel.edu/goodwin/professional-studies-blog/overview/2019/September/4-ways-to-boost-your-adaptability-skills/

· https://www.wikihow.com/Be-Flexible-at-Work#:~:text=%20How%20to%20Be%20Flexible%20at%20Work%20,and%20employees%20to%20be%20more%20creative.%20More%20

· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCMah0wIXPc

· https://www.success.com/21-insightful-quotes-about-embracing-change/#:~:text=21%20Insightful%20Quotes%20About%20Embracing%20Change.%201%201.,the%20future.%E2%80%9D.%20%E2%80%94%20John%20F.%20Kennedy.%20More%20items

· https://amymorinlcsw.com/mentally-strong-people/

· https://www.success.com/13-things-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/

· https://navyseals.com/nsw/hell-week-0/#:~:text=Hell%20Week%20is%20the%20defining%20event%20of%20BUD%2FS,training%20on%20fewer%20than%20four%20hours%20of%20sleep