It is hard to argue with logical time-tested advice. Stay flexible. It sounds good. However, the volatility in our business conditions has been exhausting. Business owners have been living like cats on a hot tin roof. They may not be able to stay flexible much longer. Profits are down, sales are down. They are laying people off. The only investments appear to be in AI, which is often to replace the employees who are laid off. Add to that the increased costs of health care premiums and most businesses as well as individuals are forced to cut back on spending. If you don’t have to yet, count your blessings.
We have been through rough times before. If it is going to be you and your business that survive, what can you do that will give you an advantage over time? Is it focus on customer service, or new products, or adopting AI faster? Lay out the plan and work the plan. If you can stay profitable, you can stay in the game for a long time.
Next, it might be time to focus on your own physical flexibility. Have you ever seen a child squat comfortably for several minutes while they play with a toy? Talk about flexibility. Many of the mental and physical aches and pains we feel can be worked out with stretching, walking, using light weights, breathing deeply. How did we lose our sense of balance responding to the day to day?
Perhaps staying flexible can become an action plan in all parts of our lives. Grab a friend and do it together. Make an accountability plan, and gamify it. Create rewards for yourselves for keeping to the plan. Another thing kids do is play. A lot! We could all learn to do a little more of that!
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