Insight #16: On work and adaptation

Hello again and welcome to Insight #16; On work and adaptation.

• The human condition is extremely varied. There's people living on the poles, in outer space, with insane wealth, on war zones. Humans truly are the adaptation kings of the planet. I want to explore some ideas as to how to better adapt to our circumstances.

• First and foremost, you cannot adapt to something you aren't yet living in/with. As much as you can prepare, you will never truly know what it entails for you until you are deep in the situation and decent time has passed. Part of adaptation is understanding of the relationships between you and the situation (see the insight on clarity for more.)

• Another key to adaptation is openness and ability to change. This means it is easier to adapt to new things when we are younger. Without change there can't be adequate adaptation. A big part of this change is physical (depending on the situation), getting used to working more, or less, or changes in temperature or even pressure all take a toll on us at first.

• This leads to another key, time. Time is the greatest driver for adaptation. You won't adapt instantly, not a day or a week. It can even take years depending on the severity of the circumstances. Of course some people never adapt to their new environments, which can lead to going back to their old habits or, in the worst of cases, death.

• However I believe 99% of the things we encounter can be adapted to. There are great works by author Victor Frankl who spoke about being a doctor inside WW2 concentration camps. Even in such dire conditions adaptation can take place. Adaptation is also deeply connected with survival, which we will explore in other insights, but without the impulse to survive adaptation is near impossible.

• Finally I want to connect this to our work. Work is often scary at first, especially when we are still on the job search and hiring fazes. We joke about the “noobs” of the workplace even though everyone has been one at some point. There's a saying that goes: “The cost of becoming a graceful master is accepting to look like a foolish beginner.”

Thank you for reading. I'm sorry about the weird timing of publication, it has been a crazy weekend. I hope you enjoyed yours. Until next time :)