As you change: Abandon, Adjust, Adopt

Day 16

I wrote this one a while back but it seemed to resonate with the theme. I was thinking about growth, change, and learning, and wanted to capture the dynamic nature of the journey.

As you change, identify what you need to

Abandon: what do you need to stop or get rid of because it no longer serves

Adjust: what still serves you but doesn’t quite fit into your new ways of being

Adopt: What do you need to do that you don’t currently do which serves your future needs

As we take our journey, as we work toward our desires, we will inevitably change. As a part of that change, three things will happen:

“Abandon” is letting go of behaviors, activities, thoughts, etc that no longer serve a purpose in our journey. I put this first because this can often be the hardest of the three. We may demonstrate loss aversion, or we may have difficulty breaking habits that have been held for periods of time. This is also critical because we need to make space in our thoughts and activities for the other two aspects of change.

“Adjust” is modifying behaviors, activities, thoughts etc so that they serve our outcomes and desires in ways that are congruent with the changes we are undergoing. Often this may happen unconsciously, and while that might still be helpful, it would be better to do this intentionally. Similar to “abandon” we may need to make room for new thoughts and activities, and adjusting allows us to make space while still maintaining the things that contribute to our progress.

“Adopt” is taking on new behaviors, activities, thoughts etc so that we are able to meet our future needs. This can be both the easiest and the hardest in its own way, as it might be easy to start something new, but to truly adopt it and make it a consistent part of ones being can be very difficult.

As one is are on their journey, and they’re changing, they should consider what to adopt, adjust, or abandon as a part of their reflection. One can work these changes into their goals, to help bring the outcomes they desire, the change they seek to see in themselves and in their world.