There’s a lot we can learn from birds. Even without a pair of wings.
How to adapt, evolve, recover.
Many of us have already started to embrace the glimmers of positive change brought about by lockdown, especially when it comes to seeing more of our children, working from home, not commuting, savouring the simple pleasures. Learning to enjoy more of the good life. These are changes on the outside.
But how many of us have addressed how we feel about the speed of change, how we feel about the uncertainty?
Have we learned to adapt to the changes on the inside?
How birds travel
I have my daughter to thank for the bird theme from a recent chat:
Daughter: “Mum, you’ll never guess what I learned in Physics today”
Me: “Err what?” (she doesn’t usually look this enthused after school).
Daughter: “Projectile penguin poo AND how birds plummet AND time travel in space”.
Me: “Oh, erm…lovely. Which was the most interesting?” (here we go…graphic story coming up)
Daughter: “How birds plummet. “
Me: “Oh, really?” (REALLY?)
Daughter: “Yep, fascinating to see how they’ve evolved to be able to decrease the amount of air pockets in their feathers which helps slow them down”.
After I wiped the surprise off my face (and ignored the question I was desperate to ask) it got me thinking; there’s a lesson in this about how we all need to adapt.
Learn to adapt from the inside out
Here are some pointers to help:
1. Find your speed. There is no one speed at which we are all ‘supposed’ to travel in this period. Stop worrying about what others appear to be doing. Find your optimal speed.
If you’re a fixer, think about how to take ‘time out’; list the things you don’t need to tackle. Streamline. Give yourself time to reflect, to notice the small things you enjoy.
If you’re a procrastinator, focus on what you’d like to achieve and work backwards. Break it down into tiny steps, even this counts as the first foot forwards and one step will lead to another. New habits are best formed when tacked onto an existing habit, especially one you enjoy. Enrol a friend or someone you trust to check in with you.
2. Understand your emotions, what you believe in. Are you feeling angry, fearful, or sad? If so, why? All these emotions are simply our perceptions of reality and connected to the things we believe about ourselves. The subconscious is a powerful ‘operating platform’ which stores and triggers emotional ‘alerts’ and the behaviours that come with that. But beliefs and behaviours can be changed.
Take the time to focus on your inside drivers. If you need help to go deeper then reach out.
Learn how to adapt.
Be more bird.
If you want help to move on in your life, to take stock of HOW you’re living your life, WHAT you want and WHO you want to be, get in touch for a free discovery chat. Contact me on jane@mynextme.co.uk.
(Image by Vincent-van-Zalinge on Unsplash)