Adapt and Grow

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Usually on Fridays I share and link up a Five Minute Friday post, but that link-up is taking a holiday break for three weeks. Oddly, as it turns out, I discovered that I missed writing on three words way back in February when I did the Write 28 Days Blogging Challenge. My theme was Coping With Change, and it also turns out those three words are perfect for the most recent changes in life that I've been coping with. Bonus words to write about for five minutes (or more) during the holidays.

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One word. Five minutes to write about it. This is the idea behind Five Minute Friday and this is today's free-writing post.

adapt and adjust

adapt to suit

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The measure of intelligence is the ability to change. ~Albert Einstein

To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. ~Winston Churchill

Why do I tend to feel sorry for myself when I'm the one that is expected to adapt and adjust? Maybe we all tend to be a bit disgruntled when we are expected the change something that we hadn't planned on. It's not fair to be the inflexible, immovable person all the time either, and so we all do what we need to do. We all give a little bit and negotiate a bit and change happens. And sometimes change happens whether we're on board or not, and we are forced to adapt just to survive. 

Adaptability is a survival skill, I suppose. Being able to adapt our skill sets helps us succeed in a changing job market. Being able to adapt our communication and relational style helps us maintain good relationships with family and friends. Being able to adjust our expectations helps us stay reasonable and grounded.

To survive and even thrive in a changing world, nature offers another great lesson: the survivors are those who at the least adapt to change, or even better learn to benefit from change and grow intellectually and personally. That means careful listening and constant learning. ~Frances Arnold

Adapt yourself to the things among which your lot has been cast and love sincerely the fellow creatures with whom destiny has ordained that you shall live. ~Marcus Aurelius

Sometimes, though, there's a fine line between adapting and giving in. Between adapting and compromising. Healthy adapting shouldn't mean conforming to what everyone else is doing, going along with the crowd, or giving up our own identity or principles so we can fit in. 

The world around me has changed, and I have learned to adapt but not change. But I'm changing into the woman I am meant to be. ~Aurora

I have been adjusting my expectations of what my life would look like at this stage. I'm adjusting my expectations of what my home will look like and how I'll spend my time. I've been trying to adjust my attitude when I find myself feeling grumpy or like I've been hard done by. Adapting to change by making the little course adjustments when needed but not abandoning ship. I'm learning more and more that I need to allow the Holy Spirit to show me what needs changing, so that the adaptations will make me a better person and more like Jesus.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God - this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.

~Romans 12:1-2~

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

~II Corinthians 3:17-18~

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You know I wasn't going to end without at least one more humorous quote, right? I have no idea who this guy is, a singer or a comedian probably, but I got a kick out of the quote.

Adapt to yourself, bro. What I wanna say is don't let nobody tell you that you should stay in your lane, bro. ~Ski Mask the Slump God

Which led me to include this bonus music video:

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For the recent Write 28 Days Blogging Challenge, I had decided to explore the theme of living well and with purpose during times of change. A few years ago, as I neared the end of my years as a homeschool mom, I realized my world would change when my youngest graduated. My roles in the homeschool community and in my social circles were affected. Things changed in the workplace. Things are ever changing at church. And as my children grew up and the nest has begun to empty, family dynamics are changing. To our surprise, my husband's job ended at the very beginning of 2022, which brought another round of changes to consider! (He started a new position in February, and moving was a change we did not have to deal with after all!) Fast forward to the fall of 2022, and the new job ended, and we did have to make a move and cope with a lot of changes! I know very well that writing about coping with change is not the same as having all the answers. I'll do my best to share what I'm learning and experiencing, and I'd love to hear from others in the comments. I didn't finish writing and posting everything at the tail end of the challenge, so I think maybe these last couple of prompts were serendipitously left for me to write about now, as I'm reflecting on the most recent changes I've had to cope with.

This post is part of the Write 28 Days Blogging Challenge hosted by Anita Ojeda. Find all my posts for the 2022 challenge here: 28 Days of Coping With Change

Our dilemma is that we hate change and love it at the same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better. ~Sydney J. Harris

Although not linked at Five Minute Friday due to the holiday break, this post more or less follows my usual Five Minute Friday format.

This post will be linked at Inspire Me Monday, at the Sweet Tea & Friends Monthly Link-up Party hosted by Simply Coffee & Jesus, and at Let's Have Coffee hosted by Joanne Viola: Days and Thoughts

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