Adaptability is Your Superpower

Okay, everyone. Take some deep breaths. 

Like you, I am feeling all of the things. Exhaustion, rage-crying, despair that half our country voted for a racist, misogynistic sociopath, and now hope (and more crying) that by the end of today we may have a new President. What the hell, 2020? Please stop torturing us.

But the cost of this victory that we thought would be much easier is demoralizing at best.

Yet, I keep thinking about one word - adaptability.

2020 has taught us many things, and one of those things is how to adapt very quickly. We have had obstacle after obstacle thrown in our path. We have had to learn how to stay safe and healthy when no one knew much about COVID. We have learned how to be our kids teachers, and how to work remotely online during a pandemic and still get something(ish) done.

Think for a moment about all the ways your life is different now than it was on March 12th. Every day there are now dozens of little things you do because you’ve adapted. You wear a mask when you go out. You don’t hug people or shake hands (this is the hardest thing for me). You find ways to support local businesses. You know what to do if there’s another lock down. You know where to get tested and all the signs of COVID, even the weird ones. So many small - and big - things you do automatically every day that you did not, and could not, contemplate in early March. 

You have shown tremendous adaptability. Adaptability has become your superpower. Thanks in part to 2020, you have a backpack full of adaptability tools.

Remember how hard all of this seemed in March and April? Then at some point, we got better at adapting and realized we’re in for a much longer haul than we thought in March. 

This election showed us that we’re in the long haul in the fight for justice and against inequity even more work to do than we anticipated. Because so many of you have been in the long haul for most of your lives, it is disheartening (and much more) at a cellular level.

Those of you who work with me likely know I am a huge fan of Carol Dweck’s work on mindset. Her theory essentially is that sometimes we have a fixed mindset, which is focused on finding definitive truths and judgments, and sometimes we have a growth mindset, which is focused on learning and curiosity. 

For example, when I am in a fixed mindset I might say, “I am not good at math.” 

When I am in a growth mindset, I would change that to “I’m not good at math...yet.” 

Do you see the difference the word “yet” makes? It’s open to possibilities. 

This week 2020 threw us another giant, crap-covered obstacle. We learned that what we thought was true - that the country was ready for a blue wave (fixed mindset, by the way) - is not the whole picture. And the whole picture - the one where we realize this country is actually way worse off than we might have realized - is really shitty and awful. 

So what do we do?

Here is what we do not do: We do not give up on goals. We do not lower our standards. We do not change what we’re fighting for. 

We stand by our values. 

We put on our adaptability backpacks. We take out our tools. We look for other ways around the obstacle. Like Sesame Street taught us, we go over, under or through.

We take care of ourselves. Because even though we thought this was a marathon, 2020 has let us know - surprise! - it’s actually an ultra-marathon. We need to last until the finish line. This means do everything you can to lower your stress levels. Sleep, practice mindfulness, exercise. For real. You are T-I-R-E-D. It is okay to rest and refuel and to find more balance. Reach out if you need help doing this. It’s my jam. 

We use our adaptability skills to move our communities forward. Find others that are doing the work and join them. Talk to your community about what it needs and help them find it. Make your activism a daily practice, just like putting on your mask before you go outside. Move to Georgia for two months and help us win the Senate. Do something every single day.

We practice cultivating a growth mindset. Notice when you think something is an absolute truth, when you are judging a situation, or when you assume something is a fixed state (e.g., “We’ll never win in rural areas”). When that happens try reframing the thought using the word “yet” (e.g., “We’re not yet winning in rural areas.”). Shifting to a growth mindset helps open your mind to other possibilities. It encourages creative response. And we really need that right now.

So, the election was not the tidal wave we hoped for. It was not a massive repudiation of Trump and Trumpism. 

But, here’s the thing about tidal wave elections: they are caused by a million little things that activists all over the country do every day. Small seismic shifts that move progress forward.

We may not have gotten there this time. But I choose to think we’re not there...yet.