How much time do you spend trying to get control over what happens in your life?
Personally, I subscribe to the idea of designing my life. It is a way of thinking about and visualizing what I want to happen. Each day, I do things that I believe will help shape my life to be what I desire. If you are a goal-driven person, you probably have spent considerable time thinking about and plotting what it takes to get there, too.
While having goals and a direction in mind is essential, we can not control everything that happens in life. Our actions may have an uncertain outcome due to other people involved or circumstances that occur out of the blue.
Other times, life throws us curves. The path you have chosen may not be working out the way you thought it would. It is easy to hesitate or stall when uncertainty looms.
Even when we are on the path we chose, we can never be sure it will work out. What if we screw it up or don’t know as much as we thought we did? What if we made the wrong choice? What if we succeed and decide we don’t want this dream after all?
I have learned to lean into uncertainty and approach the unknown, believing there is something to learn in every situation, even if I fail by my original standard. Often I discover the keys to leveling up faster when I move forward without feeling fully ready. Uncertainty can even be exciting if we view it as an opportunity.
I pushed through uncertainty and overcame a fear of public speaking to stand in front of a college classroom and teach. I embrace uncertainty to fight through the obstacles of operating a hospitality business in unsettling times. Writing online without a pseudonym exposes me to the judgment of others who may or may not agree with my work. Impostor syndrome frequently makes me question my ability to succeed, but I don’t let it stop me. My most significant accomplishments have been things I have been scared to try.
Everything that happens in our lives is valuable. When viewed from the future looking back, everything works out. What actually happened may not be exactly the way it was imagined, but it shapes us into who we are meant to be. For this, I am grateful. Many of my plans have morphed into something better or taught me something that propelled me further than I expected. Look back and examine where this has happened for you. Believe that you are doing the right things when you feel fear and excitement.
The truth is that uncertainty is not always enjoyable while experiencing it. Only after you have passed through uncertainty and find out what is on the other side will you realize the benefit. Some of the circumstances I have endured were not things I care to repeat, but I have learned how to forgive, heal and better understand the human experience because of them.
Our imagination drives us to improve ourselves, but our minds are too limited to imagine every possibility. Thus it is better to trust the process. If you avoid uncertainty, you will have essentially limited your potential to ideas you are aware of or can dream up independently.
Are you brave enough to embrace uncertainty and reach your full potential today?
mljudd 