Not many years ago, the pace of change was somewhat fairly modest. We usually had time to acclimate to new ways of thinking and new ways to do things.  But those days are gone. Something can now be invented, trend on Twitter and sweep the globe in minutes. Improvements to technology and apps, and even development of new social media platforms are so frequent and rampant that constraints on the frequency and intensity of change of things we encounter every day are almost non-existent. Now more than ever, we must hone our abilities to cope with change, constantly.

Why We Must Learn to Cope with Change

Everything is changing, almost moment to moment. How we travel, shop, get food, meet people, interact: all of it. A few decades ago, the newspaper and an evening TV broadcast were when we learned about world events.

Now cellphones and flat screens bombard us with up to the minute developments.

We can and do replay them over and over. We can dissect and filter them and take them out of context. The truth is, anyone can pretty much edit or clip any communication into a soundbite that suits them. This creates dissonance among us, as we all find ourselves asking, more and more often, what the truth really is.

And “the truth” keeps changing, like everything else.

Many believe this environment of immediate gratification and perpetual “upgrades” is ideal. But I think it takes a toll. And that frustration will begin to emerge as we reach the time when our ability to “improve” begins to diminish.

For now, the tech industry dutifully meets our demand for speed and “better stuff.”

Things change so frequently and often that we no longer get to experience what scientists call “stasis”: a period of time when things settle; a time to rest and recover from rapid change and evolution. Today, we reset so often and significantly that life as we knew it, even just a decade or two ago, is a distant memory.

The time to catch our breath between “enhancements” to our lives has all but evaporated.

So – what does all this have to do with happiness and positive psychology?

The research of Charles Darwin regarding “survival of the fittest” led to a scientific observation that has been widely acknowledged in recent years. This is the best way I have found it written:  In the words of Leon Megginson: “According to Darwin’s Origin of the Species, it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest of the species that survives; the species that survives is the one that is able to best adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.”

Let that sink in for a minute.

Our SURVIVAL AS A SPECIES depends on our ability to adapt to change.

Yet our entire species is driving themselves into a frenzy to continue to “improve” and make things, better, faster, cheaper. Should we wonder when our ability to change will no longer be able to keep up with our own advancements? What’s going to happen then – a massive re-boot of our species? I’ve never been afraid of robots before, but now my gears are grinding.

I began to think about Darwin’s observation and all the positive psychology and happiness advice out there. There are so many things that we “should” do to improve our state of mind and our contentedness. It’s overwhelming.

So, to be practical, where can we get the best “bang for my buck” with self-care and wellness? What one thing could we do that would provide the biggest gain?

How To Help Ourselves Thrive During Change

Here’s what I came around to:

• Darwin was a pretty smart dude, and he thought adapting to change was the most critical capability we need to survive.
• A bunch of wicked smart neurobiologists are telling us that doing new things is critical to keep our brains nimble and “young”.
• Positive psychology experts advise that doing one new thing a day – even in the absence of other lifestyle changes – improves our health.
• Things around us are changing faster and more frequently than ever before – and there is nothing we can do to stop it.

So, putting all this together….

If we can do one thing on the long list of well-being recommendations, that thing should probably be to do something new and novel every single day.

And to build up a tolerance for (or maybe even an appreciation for?) change.

Thank you as always for reading.

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KindCompassCoach

Joan Senio is the founder of KindCompassCoach. Her career includes 20+ years as a health care executive and 15 years (and counting) as a consultant. The common thread through Joan’s professional life has been a commitment to lead, mentor and coach current and future leaders, and women from all walks of life. KindCompassCoach provides information and advice grounded in Joan’s personal experience; however, all articles are backed by research and provide facts and advice from a wide variety of experts. Joan also serves as a thought-leader for KuelLife.com and is a regular contributor to PsychReg and Sixty and Me.