Embracing the Uncertainty

Let me start out by saying I love a well-laid plan. And that feeling when everything goes according to plan might be one of my favorite feelings ever. Unfortunately, it rarely happens. 

Is this the nature of getting older and life becoming more complex? Or is the world we live in becoming more chaotic? (Or both?) I keep wondering. Because frankly, I don’t remember life having this constant level of uncertainty.

Brene Brown recently released a podcast series within Unlocking Us entitled “Living beyond human scale” where the title is taken from mindfulness teacher, Jon Kabat-Zinn:

"Overwhelm is the all too common feeling that our lives are somehow unfolding faster than the human nervous system and psyche are able to manage."

Who can relate? 🙋🏻‍♀️

Brene states at the beginning of the 5th episode of this podcast series with futurist Amy Webb that “we are not socially, biologically, cognitively and spiritually wired for some of the shit going down right now, probably most of it.” Now whenever Brene Brow says “shit," I take it very seriously.

We live in a world where the news and social media are on 24/7/365. This is the age of influencers and AI (and the advent of a new AI-powered tool or app every hour.) One pandemic down and how many to go? Natural disasters at a higher frequency, economic uncertainty, geopolitical instability. . .  

It’s not just the perception that everything is changing. It is. "Novelty is the new normal." says futurist Amy Webb.

“We are dealing with heightened volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, those are collectively known as VUCA forces. They’re always present, but they are all heightened right now in a way that they haven’t been before. So, if you’re feeling uncertain, that is a correct and normal feeling to have.” - Amy Webb

Although Amy was discussing the difficulties of predicting business trends for her C-suite clientele, this rings true for all of us.

Why am I pointing this out? To scare you. I kid. To let you know that the overwhelm, discomfort, and uncertainty that you feel is absolutely normal. We are not hard-wired to deal with novelty day in and day out. So honestly what can we do other than try our hardest to embrace it?

Yes, embracing uncertainty is much easier said than done. I feel like I struggle with this almost daily. No day feels like before. No week feels like the last. The constant newness still feels unsettling. even when I remember to remind myself that this is normal.

Spring in Colorado has been one of my greatest teachers. Oh, you want to go hiking? Hail. Rafting plans? 25 mph winds. This transitional season has been consistently unpredictable. The only thing you can count on is that you can’t count on anything. I’m frequently fighting the urge to set schedules in stone; to become tied to a certain plan or a certain result.

Have you ever had a day or week (or month) where nothing went according to plan and all you could do was laugh - because to get upset over everything that went wrong would’ve broken you? Most of life exists somewhere in the middle.

One of my favorite yoga teachers always has a different “flow." Her classes never feel boring or monotonous because I never know what will happen from one minute to the next. One of her favorite mantras is “Let it all go.” I used to ignore this instruction (read: I used to hate it.) But I see the wisdom in it now. Lately, I feel like this mantra has taken on a new meaning for me: "Let go of your well-laid plans. Go with the flow - embrace the unknown - everything will be fine."

Maybe I feel like I can enjoy her class’s spontaneity because I trust her teaching ability. Is the key to letting go and not feeling discomfort, knowing that we can trust ourselves, regardless of what happens? Should the mantra be "Trust yourself and let everything else go."? Maybe I’ll try it and let you know. Here's to embracing uncertainty, or at least acknowledging that it may be our new normal. And that going with the flow might be the only course of action that we have sometimes. Regardless, trust yourself.