Change is Inevitable, Adapting is Imperative

I've become diligent about looking for and taking note of recurring themes around me. I find the universe to be very direct about the lessons it's trying to teach me. I used to think the lessons were for others until I began to see how these themes were present in my own life. Today's recurring theme: rigidity.

Rigidity is defined in the dictionary as:  

1.

stiff or unyielding; not pliant or flexible; hard: a rigid strip of metal.

2.

firmly fixed or set.

3.

inflexible, strict, or severe: a rigid disciplinarian; rigid rules of social behavior.

4.

exacting; thorough; rigorous: a rigid examination.

5.

so as to meet precise standards; stringent: lenses ground to rigid specifications.

In psychiatry and clinical psychology, it is an aspect of personality characterized by a person's resistance to change. This is the rigidity that I want to talk about. It is pervasive in society today, yet it goes against basic human instinct.

Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” We have seen this in biological evolutionary sense with the development of "races." As humans migrated  traveling across ice bridges, they have adapted to their environments as they spread across the world. For example, melanin in the skin acts as a shield against ultraviolet light, however if it completely blocked ultraviolet light, vitamin D would not be generated in the body. In tropical areas, the sun is very strong and people have more melanin, in cooler areas the sun is less strong and people have less melanin so sufficient vitamin D is generated.

Adapting to change, then, is not only human nature, but a biological and psychological imperative. Yet, we remain rigid in our thinking, beliefs, outlooks despite our environment and circumstances screaming for adaptation. Fear, of course, is the cause of such rigidity. We fear the unknown, we fear dissatisfaction, judgement, imbalance, disharmony, and unhappiness. But if we take a look around at what the status quo has brought us, we'll notice we're already in the midst of those things.

On a personal level, I've realized that striving for the life I imagined as the possibilities move further and further away, I am being rigid in the way I define happiness. Sometimes our purposes on this planet are not reflected in our desires. But I'm recognizing that purpose is more determined than desire. Our reasons for being here are always revealed in the choices we make whether conscious or unconscious. We must pay attention to the environments we find ourselves in, whether it be relationships, jobs, or actual physical environments. Then we must ask ourselves, 'how can I adapt my way of thinking, behaving, and seeing to best serve myself and others in this current environment?'

When we are unable to see things and people in a different light because we know what we know, like what we like and want what we want, we are unable to learn new things and develop broader tastes. We become static and cease to grow and adapt to the changing world around us. Life keeps moving and change keeps happening. We can have, do, be everything our hearts desire. Sometimes, however, what our hearts desire can no longer serve us in our changing environments. For instance, if a woman has always desired children but has yet to have them, there will come a time when her body changes her circumstances and creates the need to adapt...or adopt as the case may be. 

Rigid thinking has rarely led to discoveries, breakthroughs, miracles, or reconciliations. We must only be rigid in our discipline towards growth. Our physical, mental, and spiritual survival depend on our abilities to adapt to changes that will occur. As Chinese philosopher Xin Zi said, "The rigid cause themselves to be broken; the pliable cause themselves to be bound."