What Happens When We Adapt To Our Surroundings?
Life has this funny way of presenting us with uncomfortable situations. It is inevitable. At some point in your life, you will find the need to adapt to new surroundings.
This can come in the form of changing jobs, losing someone that you love, or even winning the lottery. When facing new situations, there will be times when you need to adapt in order to survive.
What Does It Mean To Adapt?
Simply put, it means to change with your surroundings. I think of a chameleon when I think about adapting. They change colors in different environments.
Chameleons don’t actually change to blend in with their surroundings. They change as a reaction to their environment.
When the light, temperature, and mood changes around them, they adapt to make themselves more comfortable. The color change also helps them communicate with other chameleons.
I think this is really cool and applies to human life in the same way. We adapt to our surroundings not to blend in, but to make ourselves and others more comfortable as well as communicate more effectively.
In school, the ability to adapt was seen as being fake or trying too hard. Acting differently around new people or situations was uncool and certainly didn’t land you a seat with the popular kids.
I struggled with this while growing up, not because I wanted to sit with the popular kids, but because I felt that I should have the same personality at all times. I was still figuring out how my emotions worked while trying to find my place at school and in life.
Finding myself was hard for me because I did a bit of everything. I was in the marching band and several clubs so naturally I had my band friends and each club came with its own set of people as well.
How could I possibly be the same person these completely different situations? I couldn’t talk about band things with people that have no interest in music and vice versa.
I had to find a way to adapt to my surroundings while staying true to myself.
What Happens When We Adapt To Our Surroundings?
The lesson that I had to learn is that there is nothing wrong with adapting. The world doesn’t stop if you have an enthusiastic voice when you speak to customers at work but the opposite at home. Most people won’t think twice about it.
The way that most people behave at a concert and the library are completely different and that is expected. This is a perfect example of adapting.
Learning to adapt is a necessary part of life. You have to adapt to big life changes like college or a new job. You also have to adapt when you are ready to start a family. There is no way to stay stagnant while your life is ever-changing.
Your different personalities will come out depending on your crowd, your environment, and your mood. It’s time to stop being so critical of yourself or others around you.
You’re not being fake when you change. No one has a perfectly crafted identity. Embrace your ability to change and be confident in your uniqueness.
Try to look for the beauty in your ability to accommodate and connect with the people that you’re around. Start looking at this quality as a gift.
In the upcoming week, try to pay attention to the ways that you adapt each day. Master this skill and you are well on your way to living your best life.
How you feel about adapting to the things around you? Let me know in the comments.
