How Did You React When You Were Punched in the Mouth?
Famously, Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
Think about the simplicity of this statement yet it describes a complex scenario. You head into a boxing match with a plan. Maybe the plan calls for you to start out conservatively, using your quick feet to dance around your opponent to get a feel for their approach before engaging more offensively to do damage in later rounds. Then, bam! You make one little mistake and you feel the intense blow of your opponent’s punch in your mouth. The shock reverberates through your head and body not only causing you pain, but also mental distress. How do you get situated to continue executing your plan? What was your plan anyway? Now your plan feels like a hazy memory.
Your life and work are similar to a boxing match. While each round of your life usually lasts much longer than three minutes, the rounds have a rhythm like life. For example, you’re going along, working your plan and bam! change happens, making your plan irrelevant. What do you do now? How do you recover from this stunning blow?
While all changes that happen to you may not be as initially dramatic as getting punched in the mouth, ultimately that punch is coming. In fact, you may see that punch coming in a super slo-mo sort of way, which in itself causes stress and discomfort.
Literally getting punched in the mouth is probably unlikely to happen to you unless you’re wearing a Dallas Cowboys shirt and openly rooting for them against the Philadelphia Eagles while sitting in the Eagles’ home stadium, Lincoln Financial Field. Philly fans (I’m one of them) have been known to not be so nice to opposing fans. You probably understand why the former Eagles stadium, Veterans Stadium, had a judge and a jail located on the premises to deal with issues just like this.
Figuratively, however, we’ve all had many punched-in-the-mouth moments in our lives. Here are some professional and personal examples.
Professional
My main competitor launched a new product that’s driving business away from my company.
My best employee is leaving the company.
We’ve bought new software to manage our sales and marketing, but now we have to change our process to use it.
Personal
Doctors diagnosed my father with cancer, and I need to support him while still focusing on my business, spouse and kids.
I crashed riding my bike and dislocated my elbow, requiring surgery. Now I don’t have use of my dominant right arm for several weeks (this actually happened to me).
Universal
The financial crisis caused a recession, and now it’s harder to win new business.
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted my work and home life.
Adapt2Changes (A2C) prepares you to deal with getting punched in the face. Let me repeat this. A2C prepares you to deal with getting punched in the face. That’s right. You’re still going to get punched in the face with change when working with A2C. A2C does not prevent changes from happening to you. They are going to happen. They’re inevitable. In fact, sometimes it’s necessary for you to initiate the change itself, but the challenge of adapting to the change remains the same.
It’s up to you to determine how you’ll deal with those changes. Will you wobble yet realize that you’ve prepared for adapting to the changes or will you react negatively to the changes, lengthening the time it takes for you to adapt? Of course, following the latter path could have detrimental consequences. In addition to added stress and anxiety fighting the changes, your ability to grow your business or career may slow or stop, while you watch your competition pass you.
Find out how A2C works to prepare you for the inevitable changes coming your way in the next post.
Find out more about A2C here.
Photo by Baylee Gramling on Unsplash
