Philosophers talked about adaptability thousands of years ago,

Daniel Goleman discusses it when talking about building emotional intelligence,

and tech influencers are saying adaptability is one of the most important skills in an AI-driven world.

However, the idea of needing to adapt isn’t new. And while adaptability is a skill you can learn, there are other skills you can focus on to help you build it. Here we will you talk about those three, but first:

What is adaptability?

Adaptability is adjusting to changing information, circumstances, or unexpected challenges. 

• Changing information: You learn something new, so you reconsider what you were planning or believing.
• Changing circumstances: The situation itself changes, so you have to adjust what you’re doing.
• Unexpected challenges: Something happens that you didn’t anticipate, so you have to figure out how to respond.

When new information challenged what people knew about the health implications of cigarettes they adapted by quitting smoking. If you ever decided to stay home instead of going out because it was raining, you adapted to new circumstances. And if you’ve had to change plans, maybe stop to fix a flat tire on a road trip and then figure out another way to make it to your destination on time, you adapted to an unexpected challenge.

Modern cities, electricity, and email. People have been adapting to large changes throughout history.

Since there are a lot of unknown variables and things are constantly changing, adaptability is important in all areas of life. Change can range from minor inconveniences to major life transitions.

Here are some varied examples to help you get a good idea:

Work

• Changing information: Your company announces that it’s opening a new office in your city. You’d been planning to look for another job because the commute was too long, so you decide to wait and see whether the new location changes your plans.

• Changing circumstances: Your company reorganizes, and you’re moved to a different team. You don’t know whether you’ll like the new role, so you give yourself three months to adjust before deciding whether you want to stay.

• Unexpected challenge: You’re preparing for an important presentation when the person who was supposed to present with you calls out sick. You have to adjust the presentation and figure out how to cover their portion yourself.

Relationship

• Changing information: You find out that someone you’re dating wants to move to another state next year. You’d been assuming the relationship could continue as it was, so you have to reconsider what you want.

• Changing circumstances: Your partner loses their job, and your financial situation changes. You have to adjust your plans while figuring out how to handle the change together.

• Unexpected challenge: You didn’t realize how nervous you’d feel discussing something important with your friend. Instead of avoiding the conversation, you have to figure out how to communicate what you’re feeling.

Personal

• Changing information: You learn that the career you’ve been working toward isn’t actually something you enjoy. Instead of continuing simply because you’ve already invested years in it, you reconsider what you want to do.

• Changing circumstances: You move to a new city and suddenly have to rebuild your routines, social life, and sense of familiarity.

• Unexpected challenge: You experience an unexpected financial setback and have to change your plans, reduce your spending, and figure out how to move forward.

Most importantly, adaptability is a skill you can build. 

Rethink Change, Navigate Uncertainty, and Build Self-Trust

Like most skills, adaptability is built from several underlying skills. I found three to be the most relevant. Let’s talk about each individually and how they relate.

Rethink Change: 

Adaptability requires both accepting change and being willing to change your thinking when you get new information. So instead of trying to hide from it, you face it head-on. 

This doesn’t mean you have to champion every change, but you do need to stop resisting change simply because it’s different. So you can be annoyed that something is going to be different while accepting, or working to accept, that life is a continual flow of movement and that there is change within it. Some of it actually being good when you look closely enough. 

Change can be difficult, especially when you’re happy with the status quo. You might try to fight it or pretend it’s not happening. After all, it’s a lot easier to pretend everything is fine than to start looking for a new job or acknowledge your relationship isn’t as solid as it used to be. 

You’re also encouraged to tie your identity to your beliefs. Religious beliefs, political beliefs, worldviews, etc. So when you learn new information, changing what you previously believed can feel threatening to your identity and sense of belonging

Navigate Uncertainty

A byproduct of change is uncertainty, something most people are told they hate or that their minds are wired to hate. Since uncertainty is uncomfortable this makes sense. But there’s no research that actually says your mind is wired to hate uncertainty. The likely reason why uncertainty is difficult is because you haven’t been taught how to manage it, and you’ve been told to see it from a negative perspective, which then makes it uncomfortable. 

To be adaptable, you don’t need to love every change. But it is important to change how you interpret it. Instead of thinking “I hate uncertainty” you want to come from the perspective of “change is a part of life, uncertainty can be uncomfortable but I can learn to work with it.”

This core perspective can lead you to think, “What if it’s not so bad?” or “What if things get better?” or “This is hard, but I’ve gone through tough things before,” instead of “I hate uncertainty and this is horrible.” ITALICS 

Build Self-Trust

Self-trust is another skill you haven’t been taught, but it’s paramount to adaptability. When you trust you can manage change and uncertainty you are better able to face changing circumstances and new information. 

Similar to navigating uncertainty and rethinking change, this doesn’t mean you need to love every change, but you know in your core that you can manage what comes next, even if you don’t do it perfectly. 

With self-trust also comes a different focus. People who trust themselves prioritize their goals and values. So even if they go through multiple major life changes, and even though things might be difficult, they continue to focus on where they ant to be and how to get there, instead of fighting to keep things the same or feeling hopeless when things change. 

With this foundation, you give yourself more opportunities and “get” to decide what you want to do. You take control of how you want to proceed, instead of feeling powerless and like things are happening to you. 

The Root is Thought

Adaptability is built with repetition and practice. And the best way to practice is by focusing on your thoughts. Because if you think change and uncertainty are dangerous, it is going to be difficult to learn to adapt to it. And if you don’t trust yourself, well, it’s going to be tough to have the confidence to handle constant adjustments. 

When you focus on the root, your thoughts, you’re going to build self-awareness and learn the thoughts that drive your behaviors and how you operate in changing environments. 

If you want to learn more about how to build adaptability at the root, you can check out Thought Swaps for Adaptability: Rethink Change, Navigate Uncertainty, and Build Self-Trust.