A journey to Africa: Trick or treat?
Why Adaptability and Flexibility are the two soft skills that can change the story of any experience, anywhere in the world.
Two friends of yours decided to voluntarily work for six months in an elephant sanctuary in Africa. Back from their journey, they narrate their experience, while you listen actively to every word that comes out of their mouths.
The first friend to speak radiates with enthusiasm, while describing how they were asked to treat baby elephants at dawn. The lighting was poor- but oh, those colours of the sky! He then nostalgically describes the numerous times he managed to communicate with the other volunteers who didn’t speak English, using body language. He also vividly remembers the local food, so different from what we are used to!
The other one doesn’t seem to be as eager to speak. In fact, he looks quite sad. When it’s his turn to share the experience from his point of view, the overall mood changes. “It was the worst experience of my life. Never, ever again. I did not sleep my usual 8 hours, the food was completely different from what I like, so obviously I had to survive eating canned food- or starve. The worst part? I could communicate with almost nobody, since almost nobody spoke English. An awful, awful experience! ”
How can it be that the same experience is perceived so differently? Let’s see…
Think outside the box. And the square. And the tube.
Adaptability- which is the ability to easily learn new skills and behaviours in response to changing conditions- and flexibility- the ability to manage unforeseen situations quickly and effectively- are two soft skills necessary to everyone. Why are these soft skills so important? Easy. Which of your two friends actually enjoyed volunteering in Africa? Definitely the first one. Can you guess why? He was the flexible one. He managed to adapt.
Adaptability and flexibility help us enjoy life deeply. When you face difficulties (whether it is a work project that did not go as planned, or a trip that was cancelled last minute), being flexible is your only chance to calmly cope with the unexpected change and adapt to the new circumstance. Furthermore, a quick online search is enough to prove to you that the above soft skills are mostly desired in any work environment.
To be fair; there are people who are naturally adaptive and flexible- and others who just are not… The good news? These skills, like all human skills, can be acquired through training. How? Stay tuned to find out more…
