Responding to the Unpredictable
Life comes at you fast. You have a plan for going about your everyday when suddenly things change. What you thought was normal is now upended and you need to act fast. What do you do? How do you do it? Do you then put measures in place to ensure it doesn’t happen again?
In project management, there is a term for trying to mitigate the effects of loss, risk management. Risk management in basic terms is hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. The whole aim of this kind of management is thinking about every possible way a project can face a loss financially, operationally, strategically, and externally. You are the meteorologist for the project. “There is a 90% chance of unpredictability on the horizon, so please don’t come at me when my prediction models are incorrect” Lol!
As we all know, life too is unpredictable. We try our best to put measures in place, just in case something unforeseen happens. (i.e., having insurance, savings, etc.) We can hope for the best, but what should we do when we don’t have time to prepare for the storm? I would like to share a couple things I have learned along the way for when the unpredictable happens in life. I think these familiar principals can be used in business or personal life.
Stop and Think
Sometimes this takes place in a split second. When your plans go array, it’s natural to be reactionary. Everyone’s reaction is completely different. You may freeze in the moment or act. Whatever the case may be, when you find yourself past that initial shock and awe moment, pause and think.
Think about what just happen. Think about everyone that may have been affected. Then think how you are feeling. Thinking about the unpredictable circumstance starts an internal dialogue to help you process the situation and begin working out your next steps.
Adapt
Plans hardly go as desired. If all your plans are concrete and work, then I am happy for you. Please teach me how to master life lol! However, it’s important to adapt and not be afraid to change. Yes, you read that correct. We can fail to adapt because fear of change can keep us stubborn. Thus, even when something unpredictable in life happens, if fear of change is present, then adaptation can be absent.
Give yourself grace to change your plans. If you feel that your plans need to happen exactly as you planned them to, please give yourself grace to embrace change. Because adaptation is all about learning something new, learning something different. So, being able to adapt is evidence of you learning and growing.
Thank you for your consideration in reading this post. What may seem like common knowledge to you, may be an unfamiliar concept to someone else.
So please share this article with others!
Sources
What is risk management? Marquette University. (n.d.). Retrieved March 6, 2022, from https://www.marquette.edu/riskunit/riskmanagement/whatis.shtml