How different is the current version of you?
Stuck in Traffic
Everyone hates being stuck in traffic. It’s not just the frustration of being later than we wanted. There is also some “metaphorical reason” we hate it: humans are designed to grow and make progress. Sitting in a car or bus that isn’t moving can feel like our lives have ground to a halt, not just our transportation.
That’s why one of the most encouraging and energizing things you can do is to keep track of how you’ve grown and improved.
Most of us don’t do this. We keep track of what we’ve accomplished. We’re good at knowing what we’ve done. We’re pretty terrible at seeing how we’ve changed.
That’s why everyone loves looking at past pictures (even the cringy ones). On the one hand it’s entertaining (or horrifying) to see the hairstyle or difference in appearance. But on the metaphorical level, there’s a real sense of growth. Regardless of what you’ve done since that picture, you have that deep feeling: “I’m different now.”
It’s like that joke:
If you don’t look at your past self and say, “I was such an idiot,” then you probably still are one.
One of the best ways to track your growth is what we call an “Adaptive Journal.”
The Journal
Your Adaptive Journal is a record of what has changed about you. Not things you’ve done, but who you are now as compared with before.
Entries can be directly tied to an improvement goal or just a general observation.
The important thing is: this is focusing on your adaptive growth and the “before/after” comparison. Also, try to tie in which of the 3Cs you’ve been activating to make these adaptive changes.
One sentence structure you could use is:
I used to… but now… which took…
For example,
I used to think if I have a difficult conversation it will hurt our relationship, but now I see that it can actually strengthen my relationship with that person, which took courage and care.
Using the 3Cs after “which took” is a way to keep yourself focused on which aspects of your 3C Adaptivity you’re growing in.
Here’s what a real page entry from an Adaptive Journal might look like:
Bonus tip: your Adaptive Journal should be some place you can easily access at a moment’s notice when you have little breakthroughs (perhaps a note on your phone, which you always have with you).
So if you took 5 minutes right now, what would you put in your Adaptive Journal? Maybe you could write:
I used to not track my adaptive growth progress, but now I have an Adaptive Journal, which took curiosity to record my progress.
But seriously. You could.
Next Steps?
Forward this article to team members (or a supervisor if you discern that’s a good idea).
Also, feel free to take any images from this article and print, share, save, etc.
Finally, if you’d like to talk about an Adaptive Leader Journey for your team, feel free to book a free 20-minute call with one of our coaches to discuss how we can support you in your next big breakthrough.
Looking forward to talking to you soon!
