I’ve always wanted things to stay the same.

When I was a teenager, my room was filled with posters, photos, random images ripped off magazines (like the good 80’s baby I am). I remember at some point painting this question on a wall (in the picture above): “Nothing is forever?”

This question haunted me. How could we possibly live a life of such deep uncertainty? I wanted to know there was something that would just be eternal. Something it was so sure, it would soothe my anxious heart. Why?

Simply because when things stay the same, we believe to have some control. It feels good – predictable, safe, stable – and to some degree we need that.

Fast forward to around 2022 (approximately 25 years after the question was born): I was hanging out on a lifeguard tower overlooking the ocean… and the answer arrived.

“Change”.

That was it. I have found my answer.

Change is the only forever we can know of (as infinity is too abstract for the human mind to comprehend).

Why am I telling you this story? Because of Pillar #4: Adaptability.

In the past weeks, I’ve talked in my newsletter (sign up here if you haven’t yet) about Sustainability, what it takes to keep a certain lifestyle – involving training, career, health, love and relationships – sustainable in the best way.

I’ve covered 3 pillars: Simplicity (removing rather than adding, focusing on quality over quantity), Priority (having few, clear priorities in your daily routine), Frequency (a frequency of habits that fits you – which addressed also sustainable Intensity).

What is Adaptability? Adaptability is the capacity to adapt to changes. This is a vital skill for Sustainability. If you can’t ride life’s waves, you’ll, well, drown and collapse under the pressure of holding onto how things once were.

Adaptability is, in a way, a form of flexibility – the art of molding ourselves, evolve, remodel ourselves through challenges. Changes will throw us off – but an adaptable person will try to learn, recalibrate, adjust – and keep going, till a new homeostasis is achieved.

To sum it up, a sustainable life honors dedicated, simple living, clear priorities, a cadence and intensity that fits your goals, an approach that is open to maneuver through challenges and adapt as you go, in the best way possible.

I hope you can take these pillars and make them yours, to sustain your best life: filled with health, joy, satisfying work, thriving relationships and passion.

Till next time 🙂