The Secret of Adaptation

There's a school of thought which suggests that those who adapt most effectively (to their situation, environment, circumstance, challenge) are the ones who ultimately survive, or at the very least, do the best; succeed when others don't.
We see this play out, not only in nature but in business, relationships, sport, politics and life in general.

Our world, and nearly everything in it, is dynamic; that is, in a perpetual state of change.
Great for those who get bored easily... but kinda scary for those creatures of habit who are comfortable with familiarity and 'same'.
And while 'same' can be comfortable and safe (what we like) for a while... it can also be boring, unfulfilling, frustrating and unrewarding in the long term.

The irony is that the very thing most of us want (to learn, grow, succeed, improve, win) is usually facilitated by the the thing we (typically) do our best to avoid; discomfort.
In all it's various forms (physical, emotional, psychological, spiritual, financial, social), discomfort is a very real and ever-present part of out lives.

And a very real path to emotional development and personal growth.

And while we don't want to live there (discomfort-ville), it's when we deal with (and don't avoid) that discomfort (situation, circumstance, challenge) that we begin to develop the necessary skills, strength, attitude to move forward (that's where the adaptation happens).
By spending our life trying to stay perpetually comfortable and safe we are actually depriving ourselves of some amazing opportunities to grow, learn and do and be amazing.

To get strong.

We stress about change... but the interesting thing about stress is that, while it is commonly associated with all the negative stuff, it also has the potential to be a major positive if we manage it the right way.
When we talk about general stress we usually classify it into two different categories:

Distress - the bad one; results in anxiety, fear, unhappiness, depression, physical illness.

Eustress - the good one; the one that gets us moving to create positive outcomes. We all need a certain level of eustress to keep us moving, doing and creating.

Keep in mind that stress on an individual level (good or bad) is largely dependant on our interpretation of what's going on around us and how we deal with it.

How we adapt.

So one person's distress may be another person's eustress... depending on what it represents to them and how they deal with it.

Stress can be best described as an internal response to an external situation, event, circumstance.

That is, we create stress.

It's not about our situation, it's about us in the situation... and we don't adapt by avoiding certain situations or issues (are you paying attention!!), we develop, learn, grow, improve by facing up to, and working through those challenges.

Don't be an avoider !
When you take your head out of the sand... it (whatever it is for you) will still be there to deal with.

So deal with it!
Be an adapter.
(my post, my words!)

In Exercise Science we talk about a thing called progressive overload.

In simple terms, progressive overload means that we stress our body with exercise (all exercise is a form of physical stress) and then it adapts (gets stronger, fitter, faster, bigger, smaller, more flexible, healthier)... simple enough.

But the second part of the story is that if we want to see continued improvement (adaptation), we need to keep stressing the body in new, different and progressive ways.
Typically, we see people who are new to exercise make significant gains for a while (weeks to months) but then we often see those improvements start to slow, if not stop completely.

One of the biggest mistakes that people make with their exercise regime (other than giving up within the first month) is that after a period of time they will (typically) do the same thing, the same way, for the same amount of time at the same intensity... forever... and then wonder why their body isn't changing.

It ain't changing 'cause it don't need to baby!

This common exercise scenario that I describe (doing the same thing the same way) is, for many of us, a metaphor for our life.

We don't get 'stronger' (adapt) because we avoid anything that hurts.
We stop challenging ourselves, we do the same, we become creatures of predictability and repetition.
But sometimes (not all the time) that pain is exactly what we need (not want)... a little short term pain for some long-term gain.

Our body (and our mind) will only adapt when we give it a reason to... and most people following most exercise programs are not adapting (progressing), they are maintaining.
Not giving their body a reason to change.

The majority of people in gyms around the world are maintaining (staying in the same place physically) and not progressing because they continually stimulate their body the same way.

Same creates same.
Different creates different.
It ain't rocket science.

And this is exactly what we do with our relationships, our careers, our financial situations, our ambitions, our dreams... our life; we follow a very safe, predictable, comfortable (boring, unfulfilling, frustrating) maintenance program... and end up exactly where we didn't wanna be.

So why don't you step out of your 'holding pattern'... and become an adapter?