The Art of Adaptation in Rapid Change: Learning Quickly and Managing Overwhelm

Jon Kabat-Zinn defines overwhelm as the feeling that “our lives are somehow unfolding faster than the human nervous system and psyche are able to manage well.” While this definition was first shared years ago, it has never been more relevant than right now.

Recently, my colleague shared this graphic with me, credited to Eric Teller, Director of Google X, and Thomas Friedman, author of Thank You for Being Late.¹

This simple graphic illustrates a critical reality:

The rate of change in our world – specifically, technology (and now you might include climate, social norms, and political upheaval) – has increased so much in the last two decades that it has surpassed our ability to adapt. This insight resonates deeply and helps explain why Kabat-Zinn’s definition of overwhelm feels so applicable to our present moment.

When I combine the change curve graphic with research indicating that chronic stress is at an all-time high, the seriousness of our challenge becomes clear. The struggle to adapt to rapid change – and the resulting overwhelm – is a shared experience that negatively impacts our quality of life and our ability to contribute fully at work and at home.

Learning and Overwhelm

In one version of Teller’s change curve graphic, the suggested solution for bridging the gap between the rate of change and our ability to adapt is that we must learn and lead differently. Our work with organizations reinforces this truth. Recent research from Timothy Clark and team suggests that learning quickly – as Clark says, “at or faster than the rate of change” – is one of four imperatives for not only top organizational performance but also a healthy workplace culture.²

But the push to learn quickly brings another challenge: it places additional demands on our physical, mental, and emotional energy. If we’re not intentional, this demand for learning can create more stress and overwhelm. When humans experience high stress or overwhelm, two things typically happen:

• Cognitive functioning is significantly reduced, making it difficult to make thoughtful decisions.

• Emotionally reactivity increases, often leading to defensive behaviors, disengagement, or conflict – all of which undermine connection with others.

This is not a formula for success with either learning or adapting to change well.

A Framework for Navigating Adaptation Overwhelm

The reality is that the pace of change is unlikely to slow down. Regardless of industry, team function, or professional goals, a primary challenge today is:

How do we individually and collectively adapt quickly while maintain emotional wellbeing and resilience? Both parts of this question are equally important. Since Teller, Frederick, and Clark heavily emphasize the learning component heavily, I’ll focus on managing overwhelm.

While there are entire books dedicated to how we help ourselves and our teams navigate the stress associated with rapid change, one simple but powerful approach is through a visual we use with clients when designing and nurturing an intentional culture.³

What this graphic illustrates is this:

With learning, resilience, adapting to change, or literally any other workplace challenge, individuals, teams, and leaders must consider three distinct but interrelated elements:

• Me Work

• We Work, and

• System Issues

The Role of Me Work in Learning and Adaptation

Me Work is about self-development or upgrading our “inner operating systems” to equip ourselves physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually to meet the demand in our lives in the best way possible. Deliberate Me Work usually results in increased self-awareness, more effective thinking patterns, better emotional regulation, and improved decision-making.

As individuals in an organization face rapid learning and adaptation, Me Work becomes critical. For example, you and the people on your team might need to:

• Practice new and more effective ways of regulating uncomfortable emotions.

• Develop stronger self-care habits, such as prioritizing sleep and regular movement.

• Set boundaries around technology use to minimize distractions and reduce overwhelm.

If you are the leader of a team, it’s imperative that you are not only doing your own Me Work but that you are normalizing and encouraging others to do their Me Work and ensuring that the cultural norms on your team support people attending to their own self-development.

We Work in Learning and Adaptation

We Work is about improving our relationships so that they become stronger, healthier, and more resilient. We Work happens between two or more people (sometimes an entire team) and, when done well, results in positive changes in relational norms, more effective learning, quicker adaptation, and greater resilience. For example, you and your team might need to:

• Participate in a training to build communication skills that foster both directness and empathy – and practice those skills publicly together.

• Establish shared guidelines for meetings to ensure all voices are heard and psychological safety is fostered.

• Make clear agreements for communication channels to reduce disruptions and increase focus on deep work – and hold each other accountable to those agreements.

• Commit time to connecting with each other on a personal level at or outside of work.

We Work is crucial because we are social beings, hard-wired for connection – and because learning and adaptation do not happen in isolation, they occur in the context of our relationships. Strong relationships built on trust and candor are the most essential ingredient in both learning and resilience.

System Issues

System Issues are the challenges or circumstances that exist within or outside of the team or organization that contribute to friction, confusion, or toxicity. System Issues typically fall into one of three categories:

• Out of our control, unresolvable, and without a clear end in sight (for example, rapid regulatory changes or funding shortages);

• Temporary and, while not immediately resolvable, at least partially within the organization’s control (for example, a company merger or the implementation of new systems); or

• Resolvable, usually with significant effort by more than one person (for example, outdated company policies or ineffective leadership structures that could be improved).

The exponential rate of change itself is an unresolvable system issue. And it brings with other system issues, such as steep technology learning curves, frequent market disruptions, and overwhelmed and under-skilled leaders struggling to lead their teams effectively. System issues are best addressed or resolved by people who have a strong connection with each other and are actively doing their Me Work and We Work.

Where to Start

If the Me-We-Systems framework resonates with you, here are three next steps.

1. Start with Self. Reclaim calm and agency by focusing on what you can

   control – yourself. Identify your Me Work by asking:

   1. What aspect of my inner operating systems needs updating?

   2. What skill, practice, or boundary will help me stay centered and focused?

2. Convene your team with a specific purpose. Gather your team together for a structured conversation designed to enhance agency and increase relational strength. The flow of your team conversation might go something like this:

   1. Introduce the team to the Me-We-Systems framework.

   2. With input from the group, name the System Issues you are facing. Consider writing them on a flip chart or white board so people can see them objectively as “out there” problems that are creating “in here” challenges.

   3. Choose a system issue that feels most pressing to the group and discuss ways to navigate it productively. Remind the group that, even with system issues we cannot totally resolve, the solutions-mindset keeps us focused on what we can control.

   4. Ask the team to reflect on two questions and share their answers out loud:

      1. What “We Work” do we need to do together to best address this? What relational patterns or norms do we need to evolve? Flip chart or white board the group’s input and get to alignment on one norm or pattern you collectively agree to change. What will make it hard for us to do this? What do we each commit to do in order to contribute to this new norm or relational practice?

      2. What “Me Work” do you commit to doing? What practice, boundary, or skill will help you maintain a calm nervous system, learn quickly, and stay connected to others productively? Share examples of Me Work. And share your Me Work first to normalize the idea and make it easier for others to share theirs, if they are willing.

   5. Make sure each person on the team leaves with clarity on their commitments to We Work and Me Work. Let them know you’ll come back to this conversation frequently.

3. Revisit frequently. Once you’ve had this team conversation, keep it alive. Come back to it regularly. At team meetings and check-ins revisit commitments and evaluate progress – discuss how We Work and Me Work are going, what’s getting in the way, and what can collectively be done to maintain progress.

By taking a structured approach to learning and adaptation – balancing Me Work, We Work, and System Issues – we can reduce overwhelm, improve resilience, and navigate change more effectively.

About the author:

Rebecca Johnson is a co-founder and the Chief Integrator of Vidl Work, a workplace culture transformation firm. Rebecca and her team help clients of all sizes and types shift their culture from accidental to intentional. For more information about Rebecca or Vidl Work’s Culture Journey model, visit www.vidlwork.com or email info@vidlwork.com.

References:

Thomas Friedman, Thank You for Being Late: an Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016.

Timothy Clark, The Four Stages of Psychological Safety; Brett-Kohler Publishers, 2020.

Rebecca Johnson, 2025, Culture Journey: Shifting Workplace Culture from Accidental to Intentional [White Paper] https://www.vidlwork.com/whitepapers.