TALK + MEDITATION: ADAPTABILITY: MAKING THE SHIFT FROM SURVIVING TO THRIVING.
ADAPTATION: By Definition // The process of change by which a person or species becomes better suited to their environment.
In the midst of crisis or adversity, if we can cultivate a capacity to alter, adjust, reshape and transform, we’re more likely to pass through states of tension and contraction to reach a state of thriving with ease.
How do we experience pain, grief, shock, betrayal, illness, accidents, heartbreak and trauma, to move forward to flourish, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually? How do we rebuild relationships that matter, re-find our financial footing or reconnect to our purpose when we feel like all has been lost?
Before we can adapt and shift, we need to have a solid understanding and clarity about our starting point.
I like to remind myself that rapid change without an anchor to my core values, ethics, beliefs, needs, intentions, realities and desires, feels like chaos.
In RACIALIZED COMMUNITIES or those who have migrated to new lands, adaptability is a SUPERPOWER built by our ancestors.
Intelligent Adaptation: // The process of creating strategies to thrive in a new environment, while holding tightly to our core values = RESILIENCE IN ACTION.
COLLECTIVE ADAPTATION: //
In times of community crisis, like the Covid-19 pandemic, we remember that not everyone has the luxury or the privilege to pivot and reshape with ease. We remember that in Black, Indigenous and racialized communities, in Queer and Trans communities, in disabled communities, in communities where individuals are living in over-exploited, dis-invested neighbourhoods, that collective adaptation can only happen if every member of the community is supported in an equitable way.
Knowing that we can’t overlook the power or impact of intergenerational-trauma, intergenerational-wealth, or the realities of systemic discrimination, we understand that the comparison of coping mechanisms between different people is an unjust and impossible endeavour.
We can, however, extract this idea of comparing ourselves to ourselves …
INDIVIDUAL ADAPTATION: //
What mindsets and behaviours do we need to adopt, to become proficient at adapting to adversity and change?
HOW CAN WE CREATE DIFFERENT OUTCOMES FOR OURSELVES, WHEN WE SHIFT FROM HOLDING TIGHTLY ONTO “I HAVE TO HUSTLE TO PUSH THROUGH TO SURVIVE” TO “ HOW CAN I CHANGE, IN ORDER TO THRIVE?”
JOURNALLING QUESTIONS:
Where am I trying to push through to survive, right now in my life? A relationship? An unexpected change in my career or financial status? An injury, accident or loss?
What would it look like, to ask yourself this question: “How can I change, in order to thrive?”
How is your experience of intergenerational-trauma, intergenerational-wealth or systemic discrimination impacting your capacity to adopt a flexible mindset of adaptation and change? (ie: where are you trapped in rigid thinking?)
Can you recall a story or an instance of your ancestors altering, reshaping and transforming their life and their mindset, stepping out of their emotional and spiritual comfort-zone to adapt to unexpected changes in a new environment? The capacity to adapt and change is in your blood. What was their adaptation superpower? What’s yours?
Rigid thinking is believing that we’re stuck behind a concrete barrier. Flexibility is remembering that we can build a ladder. Is there another path through the journey of navigating this unexpected change that you’re not yet seeing?
Please feel free to comment and share widely. If you’d like to send me a private message to share your writing contemplations, please send me a note at: carla@infiniteoceans.com