I’m working on strengthening my adaptability. While I like to think of myself as a pretty go-with-the-flow kind of person, there are certain times in particular when I am pushed to my flexible limits – and my limit was tested last week. My husband and I were in Aruba and planned to fly home last Wednesday (you probably know where this is going). Due to weather, our flights were canceled on Wednesday and then again on Thursday. We got a flight halfway back on Saturday; and finally got home Sunday afternoon. It was certainly nice to spend four extra days in the sun and on the beach, however, it also created lots of stress with negotiating an extended stay with the resort, rescheduling work appointments, finding “child” care for our dogs, and running low on contact lenses, medications, and clean clothes.
What caused the most stress was the lack of control over the situation (can you believe that Delta wouldn’t reschedule a new flight just for me!). After my baby breakdown, accepting the fact that we wouldn’t get home for another four days, I lathered up with sunscreen, ordered another gelato (double scoop), and hunkered down with a new book on the beach. The appointments got rescheduled, the dogs got taken care of, I wore my glasses instead of contacts, took some extra fish oil when I got home, and my dirty clothes stayed dirty – no one noticed.
I learned something about myself: adaptability if difficult when there’s a perception of lack of control. Changing my perception about what i did and didn’t have control over (I can’t change the weather buti can certainly order another gelato and appreciate this beautiful environment i’m “stuck” in) helped me to adapt to the current situation. So what pushes you to your flexible limits? I’d appreciate hearing about strategies you use to be more adaptable (a double scoop of gelato?).
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