After we have grounded ourselves and made clearer sense of the situation, the third step in using change to become antifragile is to find more options to move forward.
When so much is changing all at once, there are only three things we can know for certain. One is that we cannot predict what is going to happen. The second is that any approach that used to work in the past might not work in the future. And the third is that all ways forward are likely to be difficult.
Success in a time of change no longer comes from being able to predict the future or repeat the past: it comes from finding what will most inspire us and the people around us to long to make it happen, no matter what difficulties arise. The more options we find, the more likely this becomes.
Thomas Edison didn’t invent the lightbulb by looking for better ways of making candles. He succeeded because he felt inspired to change the world. And each time he ‘failed’ he said:
“I have not failed, I’ve just found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”
Then he moved on to the next.
The more options we find, the more likely we become to discover the ‘lightbulb’ way forward that will most inspire us, to create the future we most want.
What inspires you most about the work you are doing today? What would happen if you were working on something that inspired you and the people around you even more?
Adapted from Inner Leadership: a framework and tools for building inspiration in times of change.
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