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Feb 1st - 1 Min Read

Adaptation in a Capricious World

By: Ayat Abdulhameed

In biology, adaptation is the adjustment of organisms to their surroundings in order to improve their chances of survival in their current environment and the changes around them. All the organisms that ever existed have been continuously evolving and adapting through their environmental changes in order to prevail, and that adaptation has led us to today's world and what we are now; for example, humans today display smaller teeth and smaller jaws when compared to people who lived 25,000 years ago. The canine teeth of some people living long ago were much larger than current human teeth, adapting to a softer diet after the spread of agriculture. We need constant adaptation to our environment, whether its behavioral or structural evolvement, to survive in this capricious world. From climate changes that the world goes through to sudden pandemics like Covid-19, or the fast-growing technology and ongoing economic changes, most of us feel lost in today’s world and erratic environment. Learning how to adapt and adjust to changes around us can help us build resilience, enhance our emotional being, expand our skill set, increase opportunities, and improve self-esteem and confidence. You can develop adaptivity by:


-Giving yourself time: take some time to process the change and become aware of it, and analyze it.

-Cognitive restructuring: it is a way to understand your negative thoughts and accept what is out of your control. It is a way to maximize the value of adjusting to new environments rather than desperately clinging to familiarity. This can be done by making a list of what is in your control and what isn't.

- Increase self-care: in some cases, the change may be a positive thing, like getting married, moving to a new house, or getting a promotion. They are changes in your environment and comfort zone that may cause anxiety, feeling upset, or being off balance. Self-care can help you take time to process the change and adapt to it.

- Practice mindfulness: changes can make you feel lost. Practicing mindfulness, like meditation, Yoga, or even gardening, can help you be in the present moment and relax.

- Change can be draining, and make you feel dissipated and stressed, but realizing the change itself can be one way to adapt to it, and get out of your comfort zone and develop yourself for bigger achievements.