Think back to when you were a child. More than likely, you were flexible, as your skin was young and could stretch, often leaving tight-skinned adults wondering how in the heck you got yourself into the strange looking position. Did you ever try to put both of your feet behind your head? Did you ever lay on your back, pressing your hands into the ground, and raising your stomach towards the sky? Did you ever simply sit on the ground and reach your fingertips to your toes?

If you are like me, you are now an adult and the mere thought of getting into any of those positions has your face scrunched with “ouch” tipping off your tongue. As the mother of four children, I know kids are flexible with their bodies, but also with their agenda. When I say, “Let’s go!” they go. When I say, “Come here” they come. When I say, “You will have to skip soccer practice tonight.” they skip. Kids go-with-the-flow and are like a fall leaf in the wind. They are this way simply because they don’t have a choice; however, they adjust quickly and remain calm and content. The question is, do you remain calm and content when a situation arises that forces you to be flexible?

Just as your body gets out of shape and no longer allows you to squat in random positions on the ground, when you get comfortable in life and are grounded by a schedule, you begin to lose the flexibility needed to rise in the ranks. You want our coffee to be just the right temperature. You want the person you are meeting for a coffee date to be on time. You want to drive from point A to point B without a traffic jam. The bottom line is, you want everything to be in its place at the correct time.

What happens when your world is turned upside down? Perhaps, you have a vacation scheduled, that has been planned for several months. Then, a few days before you are to board the plane all hell breaks loose, making it nearly impossible for you to go. In a situation as such, how is your attitude? How are your emotions? What are your reactions?

Perhaps it’s not as serious. Perhaps, you woke up on time, showered, and left the house to meet someone, and they text you to cancel at the last minute. In business, and in life, it is important to always remain flexible. Do you know, unlike children, adults desire to be told what they are about to experience before they experience it? For example, when I do a social media live video, I must first tell my audience what I will be delivering to them before I deliver it. This allows them to be able to decide if they want to stick around to hear more. This fact alone proves adults have lost their flexibility. With saying that, I will admit I am one of those adults who must know what I am in for before I agree to be in for it. For me, it saves time…and I am always looking to save time. However, when in other situations, it is important to be content when faced with the unexpected.

There is a man who had an idea for a project, (we will name this man Joe). Joe went forth in setting up and marketing the project and gathering others to partake in the project. Several months into the project and much money spent on the project, Joe realized the project wasn’t going as he had hoped. Did Joe abort the mission to complete the project? Unfortunately, he did not. Joe was not flexible and did not set up the project to allow for flexibility. Truth-be-told, Joe trapped himself all because of lack of flexibility. More than likely, you have felt trapped at one point or another in your life. Just as Joe, you were trapped due to lack of flexibility.

Whether you are being canceled on or changes occur due to unforeseen circumstances, you must remain flexible while staying calm, content, and in control. When you set up a new project, you must be able to envision both sides of the equation. Oftentimes, many envision the beauty of the project but fail to envision everything that could possibly go wrong with the project. Not only should you envision everything that could possibly go wrong with the project, but you must also envision an escape plan in accordance with each wrong turn.

It is my hypothesis you are reading this article because you are a businessperson who is thinking of a new project or in the midst of a project. At this time, I encourage you to look at your project and ask yourself if both you and the project are set up to be flexible. Then ask yourself what your attitude and reactions will be when you come to a place of needing to be flexible. The happiest, content, calm, controlled, and successful people are those who know how to be flexible with a great attitude and a positive response.

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8 replies
    • Elena Rahrig
      Elena Rahrig says:

      Thank you for leaving a comment, Terri! I am happy that you are our newest Transform Mastermind member, and are already taking the initiative to browse around the site. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you! Welcome to the team!

      Reply
  1. Daria Dillard Stone
    Daria Dillard Stone says:

    Wow you were all in my Kool Aid! I thank you for keeping it real. I must agree with you on all points you made. It frustrates me sometimes to know how flexible I was with a husband- children- job etc and how GOOD I was at being CCC (your calm-content and in control). Now with me taking care of me – I get challenged more than I’d like to admit! This blog helped me today!

    Reply
  2. Kiki Simpson
    Kiki Simpson says:

    Yes, kids definitely teach you flexibility… but so does experience. The older I get, the more I realize that almost nothing that happens in business cannot be dealt with and possibly even made into an asset. It is all about our reactions, yes?

    Reply

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