A U.S teenager will change careers six times in their lifetime. That is not six job changes.  This is six career changes!   An overwhelming majority of Americans are not presently serving in careers that they sought through their university education.

All this underscores the need for all people to comprehend that change is a part of life. We must adapt and remain flexible through life’s twists and turns. As some have said, “Life is what occurs in between your plans” (see diagram:)).

Flexibility and adaptability “refer to one’s overall ability to adapt and tolerate the stress that accompanies change” (Student EQ Edge, 185).  It “involves being able to train yourself to reinterpret unexpected situations that may inspire gloom or alarm” (Student EQ Edge, 190).  All of us need to be flexible in change that is thrust on us without our consent, but also possess the ability to initiate and cause change when needed.

Consider these major life issues and how they involve the need for flexibility:

1. Changing cities, changing vocations and changing friends
2. Marriage involves incredible flexibility on the part of both spouses.
3. Career and Success. What made you or your company successful yesterday may not make you successful tomorrow and may even hamper your future success
4. Working with people from other cultures requires the ability to adapt and remain flexible to new ways of working together, being lead, and even social relationships. I often tell Americans who travel with me overseas that FLEXIBILITY is the EQ characteristic they will most need while in another culture.

People who lack the capacity to be flexible are resistant to new ideas and incapable of adapting.  They simply cannot succeed apart from adaptation.

How are you doing at being flexible? Take this additional exercise to gain a better understanding of yourself.