I wasn't planning to get a brain transplant, but then I changed my mind🧠
The power of resilience💪 - planning in a changing world
During the last year (or has it been two? Or three? I lose count! 🤷♂️) with the effects of the pandemic still very much with us, it is not surprising our plans have changed and changed and now who has plans really?! Our careers and personal lives have been affected in ways that we could have never predicted, so how can you plan in a changing world?
Goals Goals Goals Goals
We focused before on new year resolutions (how are those going? 😆) but here we want to really think about the difference between those short-term (ST) vs long-term (LT) goals. LT goals are aspirational targets that will take time and effort to get to and are not easily accomplished. They involve some soul searching (where do I see myself in five years time? where do I want to live?) and introspection. These are not objectives that move, but would pass the hardest test of them all… time⏲️. On the other hand, ST goals are 3-6 month targets that you can see yourself working towards. The challenge is to always make sure that STs lead to the LTs. Too many young professionals focus on their ST without thinking what does that entail for the LT. Trying to move to a remote work lifestyle? Probably working in quality control for a factory is not the right job even if it takes care of that mortgage/student loans/credit cards. Resilience comes out in managing those ST goals.
The pandemic has proven our ST can change very quickly and sometimes in a dramatic fashion (sorry for all of us that vowed to spend more time traveling in 2020😔). It is the managing and pivoting of those ST that will bring to the LT we are really looking to accomplish. As a made up French philosopher once said, “it is by looking at your steps that you look at the peak of the mountain.”
Team: All for One and One for All!
The world is a beautiful yet a demanding place! As much as we are incredible believers that you should strive to succeed through your inner strength, sometimes you realize that you need that extra protein bar or power boost in your journey.
As any pro-athlete will know, you can’t train by yourself. For example, Marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge, to beat the 2-hour record, had to surround himself with other runners to help him achieve his incredible feat. Our network and friendships are the result of years of hard work and evolution. The hardest part is keeping these groups relevant to our lives. How many of these relationship are passed their sell-by-date? How many require energy and time, and yet we get nothing back? There will always be what we call “legacy” relations, which were very important at one point, but now act as an obstacle to our well being. The challenge and where real resilience comes in, is to have those difficult conversations and accept that some relationships are just not worth keeping. How to best assess this to have that “6-12 month lookback” and see the net benefit of having that person in your life. If you sense or feel that it has been a one way street, that is probably the moment to either cut the cord or dial down the effort. You need fans in your life who will help you step up your game — not ones that will “boo” you!
Acceptance
In the 5 stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance — wait, eating isn’t one?!), acceptance is the last of them of all and probably the most relevant as it delineates the end of the process. It is an overarching theme in the world of resilience because only by accepting what has happened do you have the energy to move to the next stage and pivot in order to achieve that LT. It is that shift that makes your focus go from the past into building that future via the present.
Acceptance is the final part of a journey and we should remember that, without being too hard on ourselves. Like any injury🤕, it just takes time to heal. However, resilience is also a trained muscle and the more acceptance we have done in the past, the easier it is to spring back to new life and keep on battling! This allows us to stay on track and plan in the changing world!
Any experience bouncing back from a tough situation? How has resilience been a factor in you life? Let us know!!!