The Bane of Thorin
I have a confession to make. I am a horrible flag football player! My teams routinely finish at or near the bottom of the league each year. While I rarely play quarterback these days I believe I am one of the losingest at that position in the history of Cornwall Men’s flag football.
Here is the thing though – I shouldn’t be horrible. I run faster than all but the fastest. I can throw the ball as far and hard as just about anyone. I am very well coordinated. What do I lack? Adaptability! When things don’t go as planned, when the game changes, when there are too many variables I don’t adapt so well and things fall apart.
Life is More Important Than Sports
Let’s forget about sports for the moment. How adaptable are you in your life? How do you respond when things get stressful? How does your life go when a wrench is thrown into your plans? What happens when there is a challenge in your health, job, family, finances or relationships?
Adaptability = Success
Adaptability, in my opinion is the greatest indicator of wellness and success in any endeavour. Take an inventory of areas of your life you are successful and not so successful in. I bet you will see that adaptability leads to success and a lack of (rigidity) leads to failure, pain and frustration.
1st Be Present
So, how do we become more adaptable? First, we must be aware in the present moment. What is the reality – NOW. Until we know what IS it is impossible to change it for the better. In level one of Network care we help people to become more aware of how their body is and has responded to the stresses of life.
Response-Ability
Once we become more aware of the present we must have the flexibility to respond by changing our approach. This is called having more resourcefulness. Two people can have identical resources available to them, but the more adaptable individual will create more options with them. In level 2 of Network care, research has shown that the nervous system actually becomes more highly organized, indicating an increase in RESPONSE-ABILITY.
What is at Stake
A loss of adaptability can create major health problems. Life can be stressful and to be healthy we must be able to adapt to those stresses. Stress posture and physiology can become stuck in our bodies if we do not successfully adapt. This can result in a rigid, inflexible body prone to musculoskeletal injuries and pain. It also leads to a loss of digestive system function, immune response, high blood pressure and pulse rate. Worse yet, chronically high levels of stress hormones can cause weight gain, irritability and yes, even early death!
Body and Mind
The loss of health is not only physical. Sustained stress physiology makes it harder to think clearly, learn, be creative, calm, peaceful and have healthy relationships. It also hampers (if there was any doubt) your life enjoyment.
Our nervous system is how we interact between the outside environment and our inside reality. You can only be as adaptable as your nervous system is aware and flexible. NSA is a great way to boost your adaptability and succeed in any area of your life (except maybe flag football)!
“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. “
Paulo Coelho