Today we share our last post in a series on exploring the 4 principles that will help you manage unwanted change and possibly thrive in its aftermath from Onward’s Chapter 11: Ride the Waves of Change. We are discussing the following :
- to slow down
- to evaluate and analyze situations
- to use your energy where it counts
- to be open to outcomes
What does it look like to be open to outcomes? We show up in a way that opens us up to possibilities. We are flexible and adaptable. Elena shares that you have the choice to fight an unwanted change, and at the same time you need to do something challenging: You need to find a way to be open to outcomes. This is a paradox: work with vision and commitment, leverage your resources and energy to reach that vision, and, at the same time, be open and unattached to what your envisioning.
Remember back to Chapter 8 of Onward and Elena’s discussion around equanimity. Equanimity is a mental and emotional state that is invaluable when we’re dealing with change. It can allow us to be open to outcomes, to look at a situation and say, “Right now, this is how things are,” even if we don’t like it or we wish it were different. Equanimity makes room for a fuller perspective on things. It isn’t about repressing feelings or being indifferent or resigned; it is about accepting whatever is happening in a particular moment. By cultivating a state of equanimity, our attachment to outcomes gets a little looser.
Dive more into this idea by reading Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators.