Adaptation

“We can’t direct the wind, we can only adjust the sails.”

The failure to adapt results in stagnancy.

I have been stuck where I am for a few weeks now because I have not found a way to adjust to my changing environment. I have been doing the same thing expecting changes to continue coming the way they did. What worked in the past will not necessarily work in the present. 

People are reluctant to make adjustments because of the effort it takes to make them. It is a little bit uncomfortable for a while when making adjustments. But if you knew that once they were made things would be easier, would you make them?

If you don’t adapt, you will be left behind.

Think of the human species: the human body has come so far over the 300,000 years of its existence. The body naturally adapts to the climate it is in after time. The skin will adapt to the amount of sun it is faced with each day. The hair will adapt to cover the ideal amount skin to protect it from the elements. The human body is constantly adapting to best fit the surrounding environment. The best part about this, is that we don’t have to do anything about it.

But when it comes to your mind, you must get a head start on adjusting.

Over time your mind will adapt to what is going around. But changing your mind over time will not guarantee you the results you want. You want quicker results than the average person. You want to double the time it takes for the average person to learn. Moving at the same pace (or slower) than everyone else will make you average (or below). The goal is to be above average. To be about average, you have to make your own adaptations, and make them early.

The hardest thing to recognize is when to change. 

On the path to self-exploration, there are times where it feels like you are making no progress. It may feel this way, but in the long-term your little actions are paying off. You just don’t quite see the results yet. Doing the little things that you know will pay off is imperative, but how do you find out what things don’t make a difference?

YOU NEED TO TRACK YOUR PROGRESS

This is a habit tracker for me. First I set my goals, then develop habits that I believe will help lead me to those goals. Each day I put in whether I completely that habit or not. 

So far I have been doing it for 3 months. I have seen drastic improvements in my productivity each month as well as my completion percentage of habits through the month. But as the months go on, I try to add things that I think are directly helping, and subtract things that aren’t.

The biggest thing I have realized is that goals change. What my goal was last year at this time is much different than what it is now. Therefore, I need to make constant adaptations to the actions I take to complete that goal.

If my goal changes from wanting to gain 10 lbs of muscle to wanting to run a marathon, eating 500 calories above maintenance and lifting weights 5 times a week will not get me there. You have to adjust your daily actions to what you want to achieve. 

Another thing I ask when doing these habits:

AM I PUTTING FORTH MY FULL EFFORT?

Sometimes I simply complete a habit out of the need to check the box that says I completed it. But if I didn’t do it with 100% effort, was it even worth doing? 

Warren Buffet said:

“That which is not worth doing, is not worth doing well.”

I feel this way with certain actions I take. Maybe the things I do with half-effort are not even worth doing at all. Because if I am going to do them, the best results will be found when I do them well.

Put forth full effort to everything you do, if it is not helping you achieve your goals, fill that time with another activity.

You have to make constant adjustments if you want to be successful.

If you don’t adapt to the ever-changing world you live in, you will be stuck in mediocrity.

Constantly change your goals, actions, and habits to align with your purpose. 

Change before you are forced to.

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Thank you for reading!

My goal is to inspire self-improvement in others through my personal stories and experiences.

This is The Exploration.