The Power of Adapting
You might like to think that humankind should adapt to God, but Christmas is God adapting to humankind.
Adapting overcomes distance and allows connection.
Mutual adapting:
Relationship requires mutual adapting.
Teams thrive when they adapt to each other.
I prefer to think that I’m adapting to others. It allows me to feel superior. The uncomfortable truth is others adapt to me.
“Putting up with” is a less comfortable expression for adapting.
The people around you put up with your irritating qualities, perhaps more than you would like to acknowledge. They adjust to your strengths, weaknesses, and quirks.
The language of adapting:
- Celebrate difference. You don’t have to be like each other to have a relationship.
- Compassion for struggle. Situations that are easy for you are difficult for others.
- Challenge that stretches another but doesn’t reject them.
Adapting today:
Muslim and Jewish readers are adapting right now, along with anyone reading this post who doesn’t celebrate Christmas.
Those of you celebrating Christmas may be adapting to others right now. Perhaps you’re putting up with a relative you don’t like. Congratulations! You might not feel noble, but adapting is god-like.
Cannibals:
You can’t adapt to everyone. I remember reading an essay about a town that built a kitchen for a group of cannibals. You know what happened.
Those who don’t add value to organizational mission and vision might be good people, but don’t adapt to them. Be kind, but not accommodating.
Merry Christmas
(This post is adapted from, “Christmas is an Accommodation.”
Thank you Dan! I appreciate many things about you including that you are always adapting and growing! Merry Christmas!
Thank you, Ken, and Merry Christmas to you, too.
Excellent post Dan! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas Dan! Sadly a lot of organisations who are basically cannibals actively look for people to build their kitchen. And the kitchen fitters don’t find out until it’s too late…
Excellent post, Dan! Merry Christmas!
This stands out to me; “The people around you put up with your irritating qualities, perhaps more than you would like to acknowledge. They adjust to your strengths, weaknesses, and quirks.” Yes they do but I also put up with others irritating qualities especially the young ins with much less experience. And I must say my patience is continuously tested but my experiences help me through those times.
Thanks Dan – excellent post. I will share your wisdom with others. And thanks for not being afraid to use God in your content!
Good afternoon,
Great post.
Adapting to change is a quality all leaders should possess.
Merry Christmas.
A great reminder to check on how how much we are adapting versus expecting others to adapt to us. There are some people who I adapt to because I rise to their level when I’m around them; they elevate my thoughts, my behaviors, my discourse. Ironically, I don’t think they EXPECT me to adapt, it just happens. And when my discourse or behaviors or thoughts are less noble than theirs, I’m glad they don’t adapt to me… In the same way I think, God comes to us in a way we can understand, but encourages us to ‘adapt’ to become more Christ-like.