How much adaptability is too much adaptability?

Adaptability is not too new a term. We often hear about the importance of adaptability and the benefits and more. And of course, no doubt, I’m sure all of us have instances in our lives where adaptability has helped us a lot. Being adaptable and flexible are integral in helping us stay on top of things irrespective of whether it’s our career or personal life that we’re discussing about.

So lets talk about adaptability first. Essentially, we’re talking about the ability to learn new skills and behaviours rapidly and in response to changing situations. It’s a very important leadership skill. It helps is react to challenges better, stay relevant and become better leaders.

I grew up with a very closely connected family with a lot of amazing people. That of course meant several generations, several characteristics and a lot of amazing people! One thing my mum taught me since I was a little kid was adaptability. She instilled the idea of reacting to different kinds of people as per their characteristics and the situations right from when I was a child. And of course, this characteristic stayed with me when I went to school and then university and then work as well.

It took me awhile to finally realise that adaptability, while it could be blessing, it could also be a curse sometimes!

If you ever have some time, it’s very interesting to read about the other side of this coin sometimes. Adaptability can unfortunately, be a curse sometimes as well. But rather than go in those general How’s and What’s, I want to focus on a touch of personal!

While I don’t have instances to call out here, the reason I wanted to talk about this in specific today is to highlight context here. Adaptability has always been about changing according to a situation. But sometimes, we need to remember that you need to take a stand instead of adapt. Sometimes, we need to make sure to not lose sight of ourselves or what’s important when adapting to a situation.

Take work life for example. You need to adapt to the different kinds of people you meet, you work with, your clients, the situations and more. But sometimes, we musn’t adapt all the way. We’d instead have to weigh the situation, understand what needs to be done and take a stand instead!

So yea adaptability can be both a blessing and a curse! Adaptability must come along with awareness and responsibility! Adapt yourself to the situation after judging it! I hope this helps…

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