How do you adjust to a continually changing world? In this chapter, you'll learn how to explore your capacity to adapt, which is necessary to face any changes.
Adaptability in the Professional World
What can you do to adapt to the rapid changes in business? What skills can you use?
Lifelong Learning
Learning to learn, in particular, means:
Learning independently.
Learning from interactions with others and helping others learn by sharing skills and practices.
Demonstrating introspection and reflexivity.
Showing curiosity and being inspired by new ideas and methods.
Knowing how to concentrate.
Organization
Knowing how to organize means:
Knowing how to define objectives.
Managing time effectively.
Being proactive, reacting quickly when necessary.
Showing discipline.
Working independently.
Taking the initiative and assuming responsibilities.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence refers to:
Demonstrating resilience and adapting to changes.
Managing stress.
Knowing how to motivate yourself and others.
Demonstrating the ability to anticipate.
To get started, be aware of one thing: your thoughts create your emotions. And you have the power to guide your thoughts.
For instance, if you're preparing for a job interview and find yourself thinking about a previous interview that went wrong, chances are you're negative. But if you become aware of the unpleasant thought, you can direct your mind to another more positive one. To do this, remember back to an interview that went well, and you got the job or gig.
As Daniel Goleman, the American psychologist, noted, "the emotional flow in which we are immersed is exactly similar to the flow of thoughts that pass through our mind."
If your thoughts are pleasant, your emotions will be too. And vice versa.
It's Your Turn
Exercise: Learn From Your Past
Think back to your past experiences: when was the last time you faced a significant change? Did you have to adapt to it? Which skills were you able to develop? Which ones should you have developed?
The questions below may give you some inspiration:
How well were you able to manage your emotions and create positive energy in this new environment?
How well did you get organized, define your goals, and manage your time?
How well were you able to grasp the learning opportunities?
Challenge: Change Your Bad Habits
They say it takes 21 days on average to adopt a new habit. Change is never fun, but you can learn to embrace it.
For this activity, choose a daily habit that gets in your way. It should be one that you're willing to let go of. Some examples could be how often your clean, your Sunday night bedtime, how often you eat prepared meals, or even the amount of time you spend on your cell phone. Screen time is a big issue for some. According to the magazine Socialize, the French spent an average of 162 minutes per day on their phones in 2016!
Once you've chosen your habit, define your goal. Do you want to remove it altogether, change it, or replace it with another?
Get ready to devote at least three weeks to it. At the end of these three weeks, try to become aware of your ability to adapt.
Let's Recap!
In a constantly changing world, it's essential to learn how to adapt.
The soft skills that make it possible to face changes include lifelong learning, getting organized, and emotional intelligence.
It's possible to develop these skills and train yourself by setting new challenges, such as changing a habit within a limited time.
In the next chapter, let's explore a new range of skills: interpersonal or social skills that allow you to work effectively with others.
