Brad Stulberg, bestselling author of Master of Change, discusses how to navigate cycles of order, disorder, and reorder. Embracing impermanence allows us to grow and become our best selves. The podcast explores the importance of rugged flexibility in embracing change and achieving greatness. It also discusses balancing different aspects of life and cultivating responsiveness to change. Living a good life involves knowing your values and cultivating relationships.
Change is a fundamental aspect of life that should be acknowledged and embraced.
Rugged flexibility combines toughness and adaptability to navigate change.
Responding to change involves deliberate decision-making and aligning actions with values.
Deep dives
The Inevitability of Change
Change is a fundamental aspect of life, and it is important to acknowledge and embrace it. Stability is a moving target, and everything is subject to change. It is crucial to develop skills for navigating the disorder phase that inevitably occurs during cycles of order, disorder, and reorder.
Rugged Flexibility
The concept of rugged flexibility challenges the notion that ruggedness and flexibility are opposing qualities. Instead, they are complementary attributes that can be harnessed to navigate change. Combining toughness and adaptability allows individuals and organizations to maintain their core values while also being open to new possibilities.
Reactive vs. Responsive
Reacting to change is instinctive, quick, and emotionally-driven. It often leads to regret. On the other hand, responding to change involves pause, reflection, and deliberate decision-making. By creating space between stimulus and response, individuals can align their actions with their values and make thoughtful choices.
Navigating Change and Identity
The podcast episode discusses the importance of adapting to change and integrating it into one's personal narrative. It emphasizes the need to evolve and find new ways to incorporate major life changes. The story of Tommy Caldwell, a climber who overcame physical and emotional challenges, is used as an example of embracing profound changes. The role of grief in the process of transitioning from the old order to the new order is also explored. It highlights the concept of having a being orientation, which focuses on defining oneself by core values rather than possessions. This mindset provides stability and resilience during times of disorder and disruption.
Defining Identity and Building a Framework
The podcast delves into the importance of defining one's identity and building a flexible framework to navigate change. It stresses the significance of identifying core values that remain constant while being adaptable in how these values are applied. The analogy of an identity house with multiple rooms is used to illustrate the idea. Having diversified sources of meaning and actively renewing and updating different aspects of one's life leads to a more resilient and fulfilled identity. The podcast also underscores the need to align expectations with reality and anticipate that change will be hard. By accepting the challenges of change, one can approach it with greater preparedness and resilience.
Change is hard. But what if embracing change led to your greatest growth? My guest is Brad Stulberg, bestselling author of Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You.
Brad shares how we can cultivate “rugged flexibility” to gracefully navigate cycles of order, disorder and reorder. Imagine harnessing the storms of change to help you grow into your best self. Brad upends conventional wisdom, showing how accepting impermanence allows us to become our best selves. Having weathered major life changes himself, Brad did extensive research on how we can thrive amidst instability. This eye-opening discussion will challenge your assumptions and show you how to make peace with change.
If you LOVED this episode you’ll also love the conversations we had with Jason Mendelson about how he intentionally disrupted and kept changing his life over seasons and years.
