Can You Bend When The Storm Comes Through?
“It Is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin
Recently, after a summer wind/rain storm, I took a drive out to the country with my husband. As we were driving through a small town, I asked Roland to stop. Large trees were down along with many of the power lines. Some trees were completely uprooted, and others had leaves ripped off and broken branches, yet they were still standing.
Why the difference? Why did certain trees manage to bend and sway and remain upright, while others that appeared to be much stronger and wider in girth were simply uprooted?
I would venture to say that the trees that were more firmly anchored with their roots had a harder time of bending and swaying then those that had less of an anchor. Almost sounds like an oxy-moron - yet it makes sense…
Again nature was providing us with a great analogy for life - how to handle life’s challenges.
What keeps certain individuals standing after a crisis, a tragedy, a stressful period, while others collapse and don’t seem to be able to pick themselves up - that the struggle experienced seems to go on forever afterwards?
At first glance, we might be led to believe that it was the severity of the event or circumstance that dictated the ability to go on. Yet, upon closer observation and as time goes by, I believe another factor plays a large role.
I believe that the folks who come out of their circumstances emotionally stable, and ready to go on are the folks that were able to go with the flow to begin with. By that I mean individuals who with changing times could let go of belief systems and thought patterns that longer served them.
In my experience, people who hold on to their ideas firmly, who cannot entertain another point of view, who have a constant need to be right, and who never question their beliefs and thought patterns are the ones who experience the greatest amount of stress and discomfort, when change comes through their life. Yet these are not the folks who experienced the greatest crisis…
Those who handle the storm well frequently have an attitude of what can I learn from this, what can I do different to cope better. These same individuals will frequently seek help and assistance from others who have experienced similar situations. They are not focused on the problem that has just occurred, rather they are focused on finding a solution and strategies that will help them move through the difficult times.
These personalities have developed a way to bend and sway during the storm, just like some of the trees had.
“He who cannot change the fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality, and will never, therefore, make any progress.” Anwar Sadat
Do you currently have storms brewing in your life? Do you have winds blowing around you?
If so you may want to examine what your beliefs and thoughts are around the problematic situation. Are the thoughts and beliefs helping you or are they keeping you so firmly rooted where you are that they are disallowing you to bend and go with the flow of life?
My suggestion would be for you to look for ways that you can feel and be less rigid or set in your habits. This way you can survive the storms with more ease and grace. Perhaps you’ll even thrive because of the experience.
Your friend and mentor along the way,
Lynette Chartier
And let me leave you with this gift - Go to http://www.10stepstosuccess.com and download a free copy of “10 Steps On The Journey to Success and Personal Development”. Through new thinking you can see your desired Life change.
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Tags: adapt to change, adapting to change, beliefs, change, crisis, habits, storms, stress, thought patterns