When you can't...maybe you can!?!

What happens when life slams you down and just when you get up, you are slammed down again?

What happens when you cannot hear, or cannot see?

What happens when you develop a condition/or conditions and you feel it/they stop you from being the you that you thought you were?

What happens when life throws you a curve ball, and you drop the ball?

What happens when your dreams seem to come crashing down all around you, rubble on the ground, dust coming up into your nose?

What happens when your expectations are dashed?

What do you do?

Adapt.

Adaptability - an amazing word.

You can fight it, kicking and screaming all the way...Or you can develop the "ability to change (or be changed) '(be changed-now that really fascinates me)', to fit changed circumstances.


Look at this! -

Noun- 1. adaptability - the ability to change (or be changed) to fit changed circumstances
flexibility, flexibleness - the quality of being adaptable or variable; "he enjoyed the flexibility of his working arrangement"
pliability, pliancy, pliantness, suppleness - adaptability of mind or character; "he was valued for his reliability and pliability"; "he increased the leanness and suppleness of the organization"
ability - the quality of being able to perform; a quality that permits or facilitates achievement or accomplishment. - from the The Free Dictionary

Another word for this is - resilience. 


"Resilience means facing life’s difficulties with courage and patience – refusing to give up. It is the quality of character that allows a person or group of people rebound from misfortune, hardships and traumas.


Resilience is rooted in a tenacity of spirit—a determination to embrace all that makes life worth living even in the face of overwhelming odds." - Wisdom Commons


It doesn't have to mean giving up, but it can certainly mean that we reframe the way we look at our lives and circumstances.

We, you and I, we can develop the ability to adapt: to change and to be changed.  We can go forward with tenacity of spirit, with courage and patience.

We get to choose how we see our life and how we respond to it...

So, I am challenging myself today and in the days ahead to develop adaptability and resilience.
 
I want to choose to grow and change and be changed.  I do not want to become defined by the circumstances that seem to overwhelm me.

One of my favourite quotes from childhood literature capsulizes this sentiment with words of encouragement -


"Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe,
and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."
Christopher Robin to Pooh (by A. A. Milne)