It's not the strongest of the species that survives…

It's not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.

— from Failure & Resilience (Challenge/Failure/Perseverance/Accountability/Flexibility/Resilience) · Clear Thinking: The Art and Science of Making Better Decisions by Shane Parrish

In the book

Researchers even have a name for the trait that predicts who rises and who is crushed — your adversity quotient — and it forecasts, better than talent or intelligence, who will overcome and who will fold — and without enough of it, you are liable to choose a dangerous fork in the road when the hard moment comes. Close behind it is adaptability. It is not the strongest of a species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most able to adapt to change — so when you are knocked flat and stuck, learn to shift into neutral, regroup, and find the right next step rather than grinding the same gear, and train yourself to look for Both-And solutions instead of forcing every choice into either-or. Adaptability is, at bottom, emotional agility, and it grows from the same root as a growth mindset — the cognitive flexibility to reappraise a situation and see it in a different light. […] Build the muscle. Face reality, search for meaning, and improvise; keep an anchor aboard before the storm; and lean on the scaffolding of people who have been there. Stay adaptable. It is the adaptable who survive; shift to neutral and find the next step when you're stuck. Persevere to your second wind, and aim not merely to survive the stress but to grow stronger from it. — Failure & Resilience (Challenge/Failure/Perseverance/Accountability/Flexibility/Resilience)

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