Cover Photo by Jesper Aggergaard on Unsplash
Here’s how you can become better at it
“It is not the strongest of species that survive; nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the most adaptable to change.” — Charles Darwin
If it was true millions of years ago, then it’s at least as true today. I’d argue that it’s even more important today because the world changes at the fastest speed it has ever changed. And it’s only the beginning. The good news is this: it’s easier to learn to adapt to change than to become strong or intelligent.
I like to think that I’m a highly adaptable person. I traveled around the world — experiencing over 50 countries, I learn over 30 new skills every year, surround myself with people of different ethnicities and religions, etc. I’m a software engineer who writes fiction and non-fiction and takes photos semi-professionally. I have adapted to every environment the world has thrown at me, and that allowed me to thrive in the past few years.
Surely you’ve seen the need to adapt yourself. You lost your job, your partner, moved to a new city, etc. You had to adapt if only to not be miserable.
Surely you don’t want to be miserable, right?
Below are a few ways I’ve experienced to increase your adaptability for the 21st century.
1. Be positive, drop negativity
Try to drop negative words from your vocabulary: no, not, bad, etc. Here’s a full list. When you think and talk positively, you act positively. When you are in a positive mindset, you are more open to other perspectives. When you are more open to other perspectives, you are more receptive to change. It’s fundamental and not too hard if you practice this daily. If you catch yourself thinking or saying something negative, simply stop yourself and re-phrase.
2. Be genuinely curious, ask questions
Curiosity is a skill a lot of high performers have. When you ask more questions than you give answers, that’s when you know you’re on your way to adaptability. In day to day conversations, how often do you inquire about other people? Do you listen to their answer? A practical thing you can do is, at the end of the day, try to recall your conversations and write down the questions you remember the answers to. When you’re in the curiosity mindset, you start to question things you’ve always taken for granted. And when that happens, you start to be more open to change.
“I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious.” — Albert Einstein
3. Set time aside for important but not urgent tasks
Much like above, it’s important to set blocks of time daily (or close to that) where you can focus on yourself. A time where you focus on things you’ve always wanted to do but never do because “urgent” stuff takes all your time. Take that time to learn languages, other skills, read, journal, work out, explore your city, etc.
4. Travel
And I’m not talking about a place that looks like home to you. You are from America or Australia? Go to any parts of Africa, the Middle East, India, Mongolia, China, Japan. You’re from India? Come to Canada, especially in Winter. You’re from Europe? Go to Central and South America, East and West Africa, India, China, Japan. You’re from Asia? Go to Europe, Africa or America. You’re from Africa? Again, come to Canada (I’m so biased haha)! Travelling opens your mind to so many different experiences and makes you realize that what you know, well, it isn’t really a universal truth. Things are done differently abroad. Your method is no better than that of others. YOU are no better than others. This will kick your senses in the butt (senses have a butt, right?) and force you to adapt at speeds you never thought you ever could!
5. Spend time in multicultural cities
Co-living in the same city with people from all around the world is one of the best experiences of my life. When I moved to Toronto, I became way more open-minded, simply by being there and making friends of different ethnicities, backgrounds, religions, etc. If you have the chance, live, if only for a little while, in a city like that. Here’s a list.
6. Host people from different countries
Failing to be able to travel to a different country or city, you can always host people from abroad. I’ve done it through Couchsurfing a few times. It’s safe, and frankly a lot of fun. Otherwise, you can host exchange students, expats, immigrants, etc. Having genuine exchanges with people will different perspectives broadens your opinion on things.
7. Do things out of your comfort zone at least once a week
A while back, I read an article, which I think was from Tim Denning, where he listed a number of things to do that are out of your comfort zone, like having lunch with a homeless person, jumping in the water fully clothed, laying down on the ground in a public place only to stand back up a minute after, pretending nothing happened (I think that was popularized by Tim Ferriss), and more. I tried a few things from his list and it was eye-opening. Try it out!
Conclusion
Adaptability is one of these skills where it’s simple in theory, but not so much in practice. So here’s what you need to practice:
Stop yourself from using negative words
In conversions, ask more questions than others (and truly listen)
Set aside time to do important but non-urgent tasks
Visit locations you’ve never been to before
Spend time with people who see the world from a different lens
Take action on something that puts you out of your comfort zone at least once a week.
Do the above for over a year and you’ll become more adaptable than you could ever imagine. And this, my friend, will be your best bet at thriving in the 21st century.
You can do this!
“The art of reinvention will be the most critical skill of this century.” — Yuval Noah Harari
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