How adaptable am I, really?

Not just at work, but also when I’m travelling. Am I willing to let go of my original plan when circumstances change? Or do I stick to what I had planned in advance?

During our trip through the Pyrenees, we found ourselves in exactly that situation. We had planned to spend a day in Pau. The itinerary was set. We had just crossed the mountain pass from Spain into France in our camper van and were looking forward to visiting the “Versailles of the South.”

But reality had other plans. It was the first day of a heatwave that would eventually last a week. The forecast for Pau: 41°C (106°F). We looked at each other and asked ourselves one simple question:

Do we follow the plan, or do we follow the circumstances?

We chose the latter and turned around, heading back into the cool mountain air. A little later, we found ourselves aboard the Petit Train d’Artouste. At more than 2,000 metres above sea level, a fresh breeze swept across the mountain lake. Suddenly, the heat felt very far away. At the end of the afternoon, we realised there wasn’t a campsite nearby. Years ago, that might have felt like a problem. This time, it simply became part of the adventure.

We drove back towards Spain, climbed to the Col du Portalet, and found a quiet place to spend the night in a parking area just beyond the pass. As the sun slowly disappeared behind the mountains, cows with gently ringing bells wandered past our camper. Before us stretched a view that no campsite could ever have matched. That night, we slept soundly in the cool mountain air. And then it hit me. Adaptability isn’t about sticking to your plan. It’s about trusting that sometimes a different path turns out to be even more beautiful than the one you originally mapped out.

Maybe that’s true not only when we travel. Maybe it’s true at work. And perhaps it’s true for life itself.

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