Flex

August may have been my toughest month yet this year.

Yet, if there’s anything I’ve taken away from the exceptional book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, it is that challenges are always opportunities for growth and strengthening of character – conscious or unconscious.

FLEX:
VERB – put a (skill, talent, or ability) to use.
SYNONYM – bend, curve, angle.
LOOSE ASSOCIATION – modify, adapt, pivot.

In the face of stressful conditions, harsh realities, and persistent strain from factors outside our control, it can be easy to: (1) dip into our reserves to survive the emergency; (2) fall apart when the emergency persists long after our reserves have been spent and we are at the brink of despair.

It is in these times of seemingly insurmountable stress factors, whether it is in terms of volume or duration, that the art of flexibility becomes key to survival. I say this, because often my source of stress in part originates from within me. It is an internal struggle, whereby my perception of how the world around me “should” operate, or rather how I myself “need” to operate in my world, affects the choices and sacrifices I make. And sometimes, the only choices I feel I have left are: “a lousy one and a lousier one”. The feeling of lack of viable choices in itself becomes a stress factor! In contemplating all this, I considered the following.

A basic explanation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy is that it helps you to:

accept what is out of your personal control, and commit to action that improves and enriches your life.

Russ Harris

The Serenity Prayer comes to mind:

God, grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And Wisdom to know the difference.

Reinhold Neibuhr

And so does this quote:

Be flexible like trees; when life’s winds blow, bend but do not break.

Matshona Dhilwayo

So basically, I am no good to anyone, including myself, if I persist in staying rigid/stiff/unbending in the face of life forces outside my control. The only person I can control is my Self.

If I don’t want to break (-down), it appears I need to practice some flex-ability.

If my current perspective is not serving me, a pivot is due.

If what I’m doing is not working, I need to modify my methods and do it differently.

I am still working on “accepting” that I need to “accept” the above. Here’s to giving life another go.

#reset your rigidity

#release your flex-ability

My September goal: Stretch – 15 minutes daily. Maybe one day I’ll be able to hold a split and be flexible enough to achieve back bends again.