“Adaptability isn’t about reacting to change — it’s about staying steady enough inside to shift with it.” — Unknown

When Life Rearranges, Stay Open

Mark was the kind of person who liked his routines. Same coffee mug every morning, same parking spot at work, same rhythm to his days. It made life feel manageable — predictable. Safe.

Then came the company merger. His manager left, his role changed, and half the systems he knew were replaced overnight. At first, Mark resisted — complaining, stressing, trying to recreate the old ways inside the new system. It didn’t work.

It wasn’t a sudden shift, but over time, he noticed something. The people who seemed to land on their feet weren’t the ones clinging to the past. They were the ones curious enough to ask, “Okay, what’s next?” They weren’t any smarter or more experienced — they were just more willing to move with the changes, instead of against them.

So Mark tried something new. Instead of locking into old habits, he started experimenting. Different lunch spot. Different approach to his daily reports. Even a different way of running meetings. He stopped trying to force the old rhythm into the new reality — and little by little, the stress softened.

It wasn’t that he gave up control — it was that he shifted how he saw control. It wasn’t about controlling the outside world. It was about how flexible he could be inside it.

Some days were smoother than others. But with every adjustment, he realized the real skill wasn’t holding on — it was staying open.