We’ve tested ‘antifragility’. It works.

We’ve had a number of friends and family comment about our incredible trip and the beautiful things we’re seeing. It dawned on us that we may be showing too much of the magical and not enough of the horrid. Balance is always a good thing so let's talk about health and in another post, we’ll give you a glimpse of the uglies we’ve also seen.

The truth is I'm quite sick at the moment and have been under the weather for nearly 3 weeks with aches and pains, a full body rash, and fatigue. We’re not sure if my current tight chest and cough is due to the pollution in the Kathmandu city bowl or if we caught something on the plane - as Gavin has also been under the weather.

Thank heavens we have medication with us from our first bout with COVID in Phuket at the end of October 2022. We’re hoping we won't need another trip to a doctor. In the past 11 months, we've had COVID in Phuket, an ear infection in Singapore, ear pressure and equalisation problem in Indonesia, and a cold in Udaipur. The uncertainty and disruption of being ill, in a different country, with no familiarity with medications or medical practitioners and a nagging thought that “we should be out there seeing the sights” emphasises the need for resilience, adaptability, EQ, a growth mindset and collaboration in this nomad / work / lifestyle.

Thriving, and not just coping, requires adapting to the physical disabilities of the moment, changing the circumstances to suit our physical needs, and encouraging each other with self-care feedback as well as support in doing what needs to be done. As an example last night Gavin encouraged me to get into bed early, asked what meds I’d taken, sorted out the next meal and we decided not to go work at a coffee shop the next day because staying in allows for recuperative naps.

Emotional intelligence helps us to manage emotions around not being able to see that temple we planned to visit and allows us to communicate what is needed and what’s okay and not okay. This dialogue and debate are crucial in the collaboration required due to us spending so much time together and to allow us both to be happy with decisions made around what we’re doing, when, and how. ‘Antifragility’ is a term we’re seeing more and more in leadership discussions and it is certainly relevant to our way of being. Coined by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his 2010 book "Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder,” the thinking is around encouraging employees to be adaptable, flexible, and creative in the face of change.

For us as 7 t-shirts each, change has been a constant, we’ve needed to be resourceful and choose empathy, curiosity, and continuous learning over stability and predictability.

We’ve tried and tested ‘antifragility’ and personally, we give it our stamp of approval. It works not only for us as we’re integrating it into our #CultivatingConnection programs to help corporates build resilience in their teams.