When Work Changes, What Is Still in Your Control

Hello,

Have you ever felt that your role at work was changing before your eyes?

A new tool arrives, a familiar task suddenly looks different, and what you once knew how to do well no longer feels secure enough.

Maybe this thought came up: "If I change direction, does that mean I failed on the path I was on?"

This happens, and it is normal to think this way.

The world of work is changing at an unimaginable pace with the arrival of AI, and a change like this can spark curiosity on the one hand, but certainly uncertainty on the other.

Many of us need to prepare for the changes that are coming, and that is exactly why I have devoted this newsletter to the subject.

Flexibility does not mean giving up who you are.

Flexibility is the ability to explore how to bring who you are into a reality that is no longer quite the same as the one that was here just a moment ago.

So what are flexibility and adaptability, exactly? Research distinguishes between two types of flexibility.

Cognitive flexibility is the ability to shift perspectives, rules, or courses of action when circumstances change.

Psychological flexibility is the ability to keep moving toward a meaningful goal, even when there is pressure, apprehension, or discomfort.

It does not mean feeling calm in the face of every change.

It means making room for what comes up, and still choosing the next step.

In research on adapting to work with AI, no consistent link was found between awareness of the change itself and better adaptation.

What was found had more to do with how we approach change: as a threat that calls for protection, or as a challenge that invites learning and a redesign of the role.

The story of Eitan Azaria Eitan Azaria was a professional footballer.

At the age of 27, an injury ended his football career, and he built a new professional path in mental coaching.

This transition happened many years before we had even dreamed of the AI tools we have today, but it reminds us that a professional identity can change shape without erasing the abilities built within the previous identity.

In an interview with Eitan about using AI tools, he spoke about a shift away from protecting professional identity and toward experimentation, learning, and curiosity.

This is how Eitan described his use of AI: "AI is not my replacement. It is my amplifier."

Maybe this is a useful way to look at change: not only what it takes away from me, but also what it allows me to expand.

And what does Chinese medicine say about this? In Chinese medicine, flexibility and adaptability are mainly associated with the Liver.

This is a clinical connection, not a definition presented in those words by the sources.

The sources do describe the Liver in relation to maintaining the free flow of Qi, movement in all directions, and emotional regulation.

In the clinical connection I am suggesting here, the axis between flow and stagnation helps us look at how we approach change.

The Chinese question is not: How can I make sure everything stays as it was?

But: How can I keep moving within what is changing?

This week's tip Do not change everything.

Simply identify one place at work or in life where the thought comes up: "This has to succeed."

When it does, try replacing it for a moment with the question: "I wonder what will work?"

Not to convince yourself that everything is easy.

Just to open up a little space for experimentation, learning, and movement.

How do you actually do it? Choose one thing. A task, tool, or conversation where you feel stuck. Name what feels threatening. Perhaps it is the fear of making a mistake, losing your value, or starting over. Ask one small question. What can you test without changing the whole plan? Gather information. After trying it, see what worked and what you can adjust.

A few words from the heart Changing direction does not necessarily erase the path you have taken. Sometimes it is a way to take the experience you have already gained and give it a new form that suits today's world. Wishing you a week of curiosity, movement, and flexibility in the face of what is still taking shape. With love, Zohar