Willingness to change plans or ideas without getting upset.



Change is among the most common and valuable experiences of life, yet it is also among the most resisted. Change is not easy. In the flow of time, as in physical motion, whenever there is a change of direction, there is also an increase in pressure and friction. Flexibility is a recognition that changes will come and are not always as bad as they initially seem. Flexibility is expecting the inevitability of change and accepting it when it comes. Flexibility is overcoming one’s own natural tendency to resist change. It is honoring the right of those in authority to make changes within their jurisdictions. It is making the most of those changes in life that cannot be controlled.

Matthew Henson was a stock clerk in a Washington, D.C. hat store when he first met Robert E. Peary. Lt. Peary had come to the store to purchase a sun helmet. He was also looking for an assistant to accompany him on an expedition and asked the store owner for recommendations. The shopkeeper quickly recommended Henson for the job. Peary sized up the young man and then offered him the position. Thus began a 22-year relationship of exploration, ultimately leading both men to a frigid search for the North Pole. It was Peary who planned and led their expeditions, but it was Henson who especially grew to enjoy the Eskimo homeland. He adapted to the Arctic and spoke of living with the Eskimos in northern Greenland one day. Henson never did take up permanent residence in the arctic north, but he adopted the Eskimo language, learned to drive a dog sled, and learned to hunt. Flexibility is a willingness to adapt to new situations, and to do so with enthusiasm and a cheerful attitude. Attitude has more to do with choice than circumstances. When the climate around you changes — literally or figuratively — face what comes with flexibility and adapt gracefully.

At home, most young children enjoy playing with modeling dough or clay. While playing, you can discuss the reasons why it is so much fun. Would they enjoy it just as much if the dough were stiff and crumbly? Point out the flexibility of play dough and its ability to be molded into many shapes. Remind your children that situations in life often cause our plans to change. Plans can be accommodated to fit new situations much more enjoyably when we keep our plans flexible.



Brought to you by the Four Corners Character Council. Character First definitions used by permission. www.characterfirst.com.