Adjustments

If you intend on living your life, you have to learn to adapt to changing situations as you go along. How you adjust dictates how things will go for you. Some people are better at it than others, and I think we all know people who seem to go with the flow so well, you think they never struggle at all. That’s not true, they just smooth it over to look like they have it handled. Everyone struggles, some just adapt quicker.

Life will throw some serious punches at you. I have dealt with some of those blows. I don’t know how “smooth” I was at all of it, but I am still here. They haven’t gotten to me yet, but it sure came close a few times. I have been thinking about this kind of stuff lately as we have been rolling collectively through this pandemic thing. I know a lot of people who just kept going, because there is no other choice. Get through it or it will get you. I myself have been on the job roller coaster but with some serious luck, I have maintained constant employment while not really knowing what the heck was happening. Believe me, I am super thankful for those that hooked me up, and kept me going and positive throughout.

Some people I encounter didn’t adjust too well. I don’t really think it’s their fault, exactly. I am not sure what it is, we weren’t exactly handed Pandemic Paperwork, so getting through one is kind of a hodge podge affair. I think that so many outside factors screwed people up who would normally have cruised through alright. I am not getting political about it, but our governmental leader types haven’t been doing too hot with this. I think most of us can agree on that. The ones that looked closer to having it together didn’t really, they just made adjustments to look that way. Smoke and mirrors, or a good group of advisors and promotional people can go a long way to making things look better than they are. Either way, they don’t get too good of a grade from me, even if we grade on a curve.

But this is life. Things happen, and we have to make moves. Financially seems to be the toughest parts to overcome, but I really think it’s the mental aspects that hit you hardest. I have had to totally change my mindset about money in the past few months as I went from a cash heavy environment to living paycheck to paycheck. That has been more of a mental thing than a financial thing. I have to budget, which I did previously, but I had a handful of cash at the end of every day to visualize where it channeled to so stuff got paid. It’s been a stress thing for me, it makes me a little more anxious, but I am adapting. I have adjusted my spending habits, which was easier when everything was closed. It’s a work in progress, check back with me and if I am in a corner rocking and mumbling to myself, you will know which way it’s going.

Recently I have had a front row to someone who is not doing great with this. This person is just plain old living outside the means available, and unwilling to make adjustments to get within those means. Lots of phone calls to Mama to get a bailout. This person is well over 50 years old, and the only plan is to call mom to get through this. It makes me cringe. Part of it is this constant crying about the financial hardship without changing anything, but also the idea that this person would have no safety net if something happens to mama. I have no safety net to speak of, and that has made me much more careful about walking that tightrope. Growing up is hard, trying to grow up in your 50s might not be possible, is what I am getting from this person. I hope I don’t have to see the crash, but I think it’s going to come, and I can’t even fathom how ugly that’s going to get. Learn to adapt a little better, adjust your spending to your income, I learned that hard, and I am still learning, but at least I recognize that is what I am supposed to be doing. I don’t hold out much hope for someone that thinks the bailout will always be just a phone call away.

Looking in the mirror is tough, sometimes. This situation with the ‘Rona has made me look a little harder at myself, caused me to doubt my adaptability, but I learned that I can indeed adjust my sails to the shifting wind better than I had hoped. I was very comfortable in my pre-Covid shoes. I was just on cruise control, not looking to shift gears at all. Then I had to. I had to get uncomfortable, get thrown into situations that were not my normal. And I adjusted a little, and I am doing ok. I can’t say I feel like I am thriving at it yet, but I just might be able to shift a little here and there and get to that point. Learning to be able to trust myself and adapt has served me fairly well so far. I hope you can find that in yourself, find that confidence to adjust your sails in case the wind shifts. It helps when you have people that know you well enough to tell you that you have that ability, in case you can’t quite see it yourself. Not to bail you out, as it were, but to hold the mirror for you so you can see it too. It’s angles and perspective, but if you can adjust a little, you’ll get that right angle, and amaze yourself.