Embrace a proactive mindset

- Being adaptable isn't about sitting back and waiting for things to happen to you or waiting to be told what to do. Instead, it's about scanning the horizon and looking for possibilities and for opportunities. Here are a few ways to get into that proactive mindset. The first step is not waiting for a problem to happen, but instead, putting in a little forethought. For instance, if you're driving down the highway, if you suddenly run out of gas, that's a problem. You might be in traffic, it could be dangerous, it could be expensive because you have to call a repair service to come out and bring you gas. That becomes a crisis. But the truth is, if you had been looking at the warning light flashing for the last 30 miles, you wouldn't have been in this situation. And it's the same thing in business. We need to learn to train ourselves to be looking for that flashing warning light. Maybe it's declining sales. Maybe it's increased attrition rates. But we need to be constantly monitoring our dashboard and saying, "What's on the horizon? "What might happen? "And what can we do about it?" Next, it's always useful for you to be looking for ways to make improvements. Thinking about processes, procedures. Too many employees somehow think that their job is to just do what their employer says to do. That's a piece of it, but the truth is, if employers wanted a robot who literally followed all their instructions and that's all they did, they would hire a robot for it. They want smart employees who are willing to look around and say, "Wait, couldn't this be improved? "Isn't there a better, or faster, or cheaper way "of doing this?" They don't want to waste time, they don't want to waste money either. And so if you are helpful in that quest, you are going to get noticed, and recognized, and appreciated by smart employers. And third and finally, a great thing to do is to just look for ways to help. If you're constantly asking yourself, "What could you do to make life easier "or better for your boss, for your colleagues, "for your customers?" First of all, that's a great way to be in the world, but second of all, it's a wonderful way to look for opportunities to level up what you do and what your company does. It might even be able to become part of your company's standard operating procedure, which raises the bar for everyone. By doing that you can truly embrace a proactive way of being, and become far more nimble and far more adaptable.