The Most Valuable Mindset in Healthcare

By Roger Crawford

I had the opportunity to write a book titled How High Can You Bounce: Turning Setbacks into Comebacks! The focus of the book was discovering how individuals and organizations bounced back from challenges.

In talking with a diverse group of people, I was struck by the how similar their stories were. They all told me that being adaptable was the most valuable mindset needed to overcome life’s stumbling blocks.
 
In an ever-changing world of healthcare, the competency of adaptability has never been more important. The ability to bounce back, reinvent and adapt determines how well we will act in response to both change and challenge.
 
Here are four ideas help you be more adaptable!
 
1. Focus on what you gain.
Our adaptability is shaped by what we choose to focus on. Adaptable people spend their energy dwelling on the potential that change provides not the problems. This attitude allows them to thrive, not just survive in the midst of change. They choose to look at change as something new instead of something wrong. The bottom line is we can mourn for what once was or…. we can look forward to what will be.
 
2. Have a sense of humor.
Nothing changes our perspective like a hearty laugh. Laughter opens our hearts and minds whereas fear closes them. Humor keeps us bendable instead of brittle in the face of unrelenting change.  As a result, people who are adaptable take their humor seriously and themselves lightly. When children are playing, they will often say, “make it funner!” Well if “funner” was a word, it would be an adverb defined as “add a little more fun”. What a great philosophy, for all who desire to be more adaptable.
 
3. Accept unpredictability.
Adaptable people predict that the future will be, well, unpredictable. As healthcare professionals, accepting that change is constant prepares you in advance to be flexible and agile. You let go of the notion you can control what is ahead and instead focus on what is controllable and that is your attitude. You can accept that life is what it is; however our mindset colors how we see what is. Adaptable people understand the known is temporary; and the unknown is where new possibilities are found. Therefore, they don’t resist unpredictability; they embrace it!
 
4. Take action.
On the tennis court, there is an area called “No man’s land.” It is in the middle between the service line and the net. As tennis coach, I would tell my players “Don’t get stuck in no man’s land.” The reason being, you must make a commitment to move forward or back. Staying still in the middle of the court leaves you vulnerable to your opponent. In other words, you must keep moving one way or another.  Adaptable people use change to try something new, utilize their resourcefulness and seize opportunities.  You immediately feel better by taking action because it gives you a sense of being in control. It has been said, “Good things comes to those who wait,” but more often good things come to those who take action.
 
Take a look at your life five or ten years ago and fast forward to today. What you will see is how much change you have experienced during that time. You have adjusted and adapted along the way, and have experienced how beneficial change has been! 

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