On my fiftieth birthday I awoke jobless, homeless, alone for the first time in 30 years and able to say “I’m better than I should be.” I was facing what appeared to be insurmountable uncertainty. As I reflect back on that I realize there is possibility in uncertainty.
To find the possibility in the uncertainty, you must carefully guard what is going on inside your own head. Consider changing the way you use the two words, what and if. Rather than saying, “What if the sky is falling?” like Chicken Little; try, “What if this turns out to be the best thing that ever happened to me?” Instead of using what and if to delineate every possible bad scenario, use them to accentuate all the possible positive outcomes. If you give your mind even just an inch of negativity and worry, it will take a mile.
On this uncertain journey, escort your mind at all times!
When treating uncertainty as the source of possibility, get moving. Stop sitting, stop waiting, stop sulking, stop wringing your hands and do something. What is the next thing that needs to get done? What action can you take today? What is the goal for the future? What small step can be taken today toward the possibilities? When I was facing uncertainty from every aspect of my life, I just took the next step. No, I didn’t have it all figured out and I definitely didn’t understand it all but I could figure out what could get done today. Just do that.
Action and movement will help you uncover the possibilities under the uncertainty.
When you face uncertainty, a great deal of reassurance can be found in putting your confidence in something bigger than yourself. If you are the biggest thing in your world, it is sure to crumble. The absolute best way for me to face uncertainty is to hope in a God who is bigger than all that I am facing. I admit that most of life is out of my control which could leave me very shaken, if it weren’t for the fact that I trust in a God that restores my confidence.
Having confidence in something beyond yourself will keep you watching for the possibilities.
To reach for the possibilities in the middle of uncertainty: be attentive to what is happening in your mind, take daily action toward the next best step, and put your trust in something bigger than yourself.
For more information on how to face uncertainty, visit www.lifebydesign.guru
