Why is it important to have flexibility and adaptability as personality traits? It is especially important when you struggle with any new change in your life. You have to become a little flexible because you must understand that not everything will go your way.
When you have come across a change in life, you have to mold yourself in a way that would not hamper your well-being as well as others around you. Flexibility and adaptability can differ from each individualโs perspective. It is something that employers look for in their employees.
When recruiters wish to hire someone, they would expect them to show their maximum potential at work. They want their employees to make the most of what is given to them. That is why it is common for employers to see what their employees can do when they are put under pressure.
You may also find an interviewer asking you questions like, โWhat would you do if you were put under pressure?โ and โHow would you handle if you face a problem while working?โ. This is why employers want people to be as flexible as they can. With the ever-changing situations, it also becomes important that an individual has the ability to adapt to them.
What do Flexibility and Adaptability Mean?
Before knowing the importance of flexibility and adaptability, let us first have a look at what it means.
Flexibility means when an individual is able to mold himself according to the situation that is laid in front of him. Being flexible means that you have a higher level of ability to be able to adjust to different roles or different work being offered to you.
Since the market is ever-changing and very dynamic, an individual must be well aware of the changes and make sure that he is versatile enough to adapt to them.
Adaptability means when an individual can change himself according to the changing environment. When a person is not adaptable, he will not be able to accept change. Employers are not looking for a person who would not be able to adjust according to the day-to-day changes around them.
Flexibility and adaptability play a significant role in how you act in the workplace and also in your personal life. With the growing opportunities and various domains, it becomes essential for an individual to have flexibility and adaptability traits.
Importance of Flexibility and Adaptability
1. Problem-Solving Skills
Flexibility and adaptability help in improving your problem-solving skills. With such personality traits, it will become easier for you to tackle issues in the right way. You will get a better knowledge of which path to adopt when there is an issue.
You learn to keep calm and keep everyone at peace by letting them know about different alternatives that you have. You can list down different solutions to tackle the problems, and that is how flexibility and adaptability play a significant role in improving your problem-solving skills.
2. You Become a Good Listener
When you naturally pursue the qualities of being flexible and being adaptive, you become a good listener. You respect other peopleโs points of view and how they think differently. You understand that just because you know about something does not mean that other people do not know anything.
You learn not just to speak but also you are willing to listen. This is why flexibility and adaptability help a lot. You would notice that when you are not flexible, you tend just to hear what others say and not understand it because you think that only you are the right person.
But, when you are flexible and adaptable, you become more curious to learn about what others think about a particular situation. You listen and understand it with an open mind.
3. You are Open to New Ideas
Have you noticed that when you are not willing to accept the change, you become incredibly rigid in your thoughts? You become so stubborn that you want things always to stay the way they are and not change anything at all.
But, when you are willing to accept change, you start welcoming new ideas and seeing things from a broader perspective. You understand that the world is a dynamic place, and no matter what, people would always want more.
4. Ability to Work Under Pressure
Usually, people freak out when they are put in a difficult situation. They are more likely to create chaos because they do not know what to do. They lack knowledge and have no idea how to deal with the pressure. They become clueless as to how to move forward with such obstacles in their way.
When you are flexible and adaptable, you know how to work well under pressure. Since you can adapt to face challenges on your way, you become more prepared in advance for what is coming for you.
That is how you have solutions to problems and know how to deal with them.
5. You Become More Innovative
If you are close-minded, you will not be creative and innovative because you wish to follow a set of rules and stick to them. You lack innovation because you do not have much industry exposure and do not have many skills.
By having flexibility and adaptability as personality traits, you gain more knowledge by having more exposure to the real world and industry. In that way, you foresee the upcoming changes and get an idea as to how to be different than others.
By having more innovative ideas, you can present them to your teammates and your employers. You will get more brownie points by just coming up with something out of the box.
In a world where everything is being repeated, and it is challenging to be innovative, it is also crucial to do so. Only when you can come up with something new is when you will be able to sustain yourself in the market.
6. Improved Working Skills
Flexibility and adaptability help in improving the working skills of an individual. When you can adapt to new things, you start becoming a go-getter because you are also in the run to achieve more.
You start to enjoy your work even if it is something out of your domain. When you begin to enjoy what you do, you do not feel like it is work that you are doing only for monetary benefits. You thrive on learning more and gaining more insights instead of feeling like you do not belong there.
People who are not flexible often tend to complain about every single thing. They think that they do not belong where they currently are and always looking for better alternatives because they are never satisfied with what they have.
7. You Become More Confident
Having confidence is exceptionally vital in every path of life. Even though people are not usually born with natural confidence in themselves, they can improve it moving forward in their lives. The level of confidence that one has depends from person to person.
Where one individual may have less confidence, the other may have more. It is not difficult to change your attitude and have more confidence in what you do. When you have faith, you can achieve a lot.
When you become more flexible and adaptable, you gain more confidence. You know that you are open to always knowing more and learning more. In that way, you have a better ability to build emotional intelligence.
Having emotional intelligence (EI) is essential because you start having control over your emotions. You know how to feel and how much to feel at a particular time, and hence, you are overwhelmed by the challenges. When people lack emotional intelligence, they are always anxious and face a lot of issues, even in the slightest inconvenience.
8. You Respect Othersโ Points of View
Often, people have a hard time respecting othersโ opinions because they cannot take criticism. When you have flexibility and adaptability as personality traits, you become a more respectful person.
You understand when people are putting their opinion upfront instead of defending themselves and always proving that you are right. With flexibility and adaptability, you learn to listen to the point of view of others and act accordingly.
Even when it comes to criticism, you learn to take criticism with a grain of salt. You learn to be at peace and not disrupt your mental health at the workplace. You learn the difference between constructive criticism and straight-up hatred.
Constructive criticism is when people suggest how to be better at your work. It means that people care for your well-being and want you to do better at work.
9. You Become More Knowledgeable
With all the exposure you get around you, you become more knowledgeable. Your network widens, and you interact with more people. By interacting with more people, you learn different things about different professions.
By gaining more knowledge, you become more effective at your workplace. Employers look for employees that have abundant experience. Even though you gain expertise, it is of no use if you do not apply that in practical life. With your flexibility and adaptability, you can start applying what you have learned in real life.
The knowledge that is not applied in real life ends up becoming just a waste of time. Employers want to see how and when you utilize the knowledge that you have learned. With flexibility and adaptability, you learn to do exactly what employers are looking for.
With a widened network and abundant knowledge, you make sure that you utilize your skills more efficiently. You become intrigued about what is happening and research it.
You have more critical thinking and understand where more attention is to be paid. You manage your life in a better way and become a better organizer as well.
10. You Become a Better Leader
Leadership qualities are something that not many people can possess. A leader is someone who guides people to the right path and instructs them on what to do in a better way. A good leader is someone who is loved by the majority of people because he is not close-minded or rigid.
A person with flexibility and adaptability is more likely to be a good leader because he can listen and also be heard. You become a better communicator, and you are more committed to work. You inspire others to work as you do.
People would want to look up to you because you inspire them to thrive more. Others who are close-minded may get motivated by you to become better people. Since you become calmer and more articulate, you will also have a fantastic ability to solve the obstacles of others.
You gain more empathy for people because you have better hands-on experience with what is coming your way. You inspire people to learn from you and be a more positive person overall.
11. You Live a More Positive Life
Living a positive life depends majorly on how you perceive yourself. You start accepting failure and realize that it is a part of your life. You understand that if you want to reach a particular desired destination, you will have to face obstacles on your way.
The more obstacles you have, the more knowledge you gain, and the more you know what mistakes to not make in the future. Having flexibility and adaptability, you start loving what you do. When you start loving what you do, you lead a more positive life.
You learn to adjust to different situations and your face changes with a smile on your face. You communicate with more people, and that is how you open up to them, and you are less likely to face loneliness in life.
So, these were a few reasons why having flexibility and adaptability as personality traits are vital. It helps you to live in a better way, and you are not afraid to face any challenges. You have more insights that help you to look at things from not just your perspective but otherโs perspective as well.
Are you flexible and adaptable? What do you do to increase your flexibility and adaptability? Let us know in the comments.
Last Updated on by Saket Kumar
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