Living with Uncertainty

You’ll no doubt have heard the old adage that change is the only constant in life.

Well, given the twists and turns of life in the 21st century, it would seem that we can add \’increasing uncertainty\’ as another.

If you tune into world news and events you’ll no doubt agree with the statement above. Our world, whether that be our climate, our politics, our economics, or our society in general, is becoming more unpredictable at a faster and faster rate.

For most of us, having to cope with increasing uncertainty is at best, unsettling and at worst, downright terrifying.

But why exactly is this and what can we do to adjust?

[box type=\”shadow\”]“Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.”

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Living with uncertainty (continued)

 

A stage in our evolution

We’ve been at pains in this Blog to explain that personal growth is a function of facing up to and overcoming challenges. Without change, our lives become static. We may grow in age but not in any other dimension.

At New Insights we believe that humanity has reached a critical point in its evolution. We are ready to take the next leap towards becoming more consciously aware, spiritual beings and, to prepare us for that, we are being exposed to bigger and more frequent challenges that will bring about the necessary growth.

For many of us this is daunting. It feels like life is out of control and we are on a wild, unpredictable rollercoaster ride without brakes!

Fear is an emotion that served our early ancestors well. Regular confrontations with predatory animals and hostile tribes would trigger the fight or flight mechanism and associated adrenalin rush needed to escape danger or prolong survival.

Nowadays, with actual physical danger being the exception rather than the rule, you might think that we would live relatively fear-free lives. But, for a great many people, this is sadly not the case. Fear, more commonly felt as chronic anxiety, has become more insidious in its effects. It derives from our perceived inability to manage the pressures and demands that come with life in the modern world.

As the external world becomes more uncertain our anxiety levels rise. The regular pressures and demands don’t let up but the environment within which we act to try and deal with them keeps changing.

What to do?

So does ever rising uncertainty mean ever rising anxiety for most of us … or is there something we can do about it?

Here are a few tips:

Turn inwards

Recognise that you cannot control your external world. It is what it is.

But, having said that, neither does your external world have to control you. Reflect on how unique, independent, resourceful and resilient you can be when you want to be. Decide to take control of your own destiny no matter how seemingly chaotic things are around you.

You are your own haven of certainty. You know who you are and what you are capable of. Do what you can, and what makes sense to you, to the best of your ability. Stop fretting about the rest.

Unearth your sense of humour

Stop taking the world so seriously!

Believe it or not, there is a funny side to our uncertain world if you just look for it. Resolve to be different and see the funny side of events that to others may seem depressing, worrying or irrational.

Let me be clear. I’m not for one minute suggesting you trivialise or joke about others’ misfortune or about the awful violence that we get served up in the news media every day. I’m simply suggesting that you lighten up about the world in general. If you can’t control it and it doesn’t directly affect you, why worry about it? Rather look for the humorous side of it.

Remember that we’re all in this together

People who feel anxious and uncertain in their lives often hide this from others on the assumption that they are the only ones feeling that way.

Not true.

Most of us have fears or anxieties of some kind. Open up and talk about how you feel to others. You’ll be surprised how many people have similar thoughts. As you begin to understand that this is a natural human condition you will be able to reflect on it as such, rather than as a weakness or affliction unique to you, and it will be a lot easier to accept and manage.

Develop your flexibility

You need a simple strategy to handle uncertainty. Be flexible!

Resolve that as the world around you becomes more uncertain you will become more flexible and adaptable. See it as a personal challenge to meet head on anything the world throws at you. Palm trees are uniquely capable of withstanding hurricane force winds due to their amazing flexibility. They may get a bit battered at the time but nothing lasts forever and in general they thrive. So can you.

Think of the worst case scenario and how you would deal with it

It may sound counterintuitive but when you are feeling anxious giving real thought to what the worst is that could happen can often be therapeutic. That’s because a problem confronted is a problem lessened.

If you carefully reflect on, and work through exactly what you would do if you lost your job, if you couldn’t pay the rent, if you flunked your exam, if you got divorced and so on and so forth, you would at least take comfort in the fact that it would not be the end of the world and you would get through it.

Working through the outcome and aftermath of the worst case scenario in your mind helps you. Subconsciously you will be comforted in the knowledge that you are capable of dealing with even the worst that can happen. And as we know, the worst case scenario very seldom comes about!

Remember that nothing has meaning other than that which we give it

You may have had to read that a few times. It sounds odd but if you think about it it is so true.

Take any situation or event in your life and ask yourself what that meant? The fact is that the situation or event had no meaning at all until you decided to assign that meaning (and someone else could have assigned an entirely different meaning to it). The wonderful insight here is that we can choose what meaning we wish to assign to any event or situation we find ourselves in.

How very liberating 🙂

Get a life coach

Life coaching, as a formal career, developed relatively recently, primarily as an effective response to an increasingly uncertain and turbulent world.

A good life coach can help you with all of the above. They are trained to help you reconnect with your inner being, recognise your strengths and resourcefulness and deal with those ingrained beliefs that limit your potential.

 

[Editor\’s note: Some of the best South African based New Insights trained coaches are featured on our Life Coach Directory http://www.life-coach-directory.co.za. Our UK directory is a work in progress].
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This is the official Blog for New Insights Life Coach Training.
Find out more about life coaching and becoming a life coach here:

SA/Africa: http://www.life-coach-training-sa.com


UK/Europe: http://www.life-coach-training-uk.com

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