I woke up today with a crazy head. You know one of those days where you wake up and fear creeps in before you have a chance to get grateful, or excited about the day.
I was feeling scared about the uncertainty in my life. There is a fair bit of it at the moment and I’m not used to it. I’ve heard people say getting comfortable about uncertainty is about having faith, believing that any concerns will be ironed out if you just hang on and wait. But that’s a very scary place to be, waiting, having faith, not knowing.
I do know that if we want to create anything new however, if we want to steer our organisations down new paths, attempt to change old systems for a greater purpose, we inevitably have to step into uncertainty.
So I spent a couple of hours this morning with my monkey brain, feeling concerned, feeling uneasy. But I’ve done enough work on myself now to know that I am always in choice, and I can always find a way out of the thoughts I am having.
And then I remembered something I’d heard the mighty Oprah say – ‘when you get still, answers come.’ And so I settled down to do a twenty minute meditation. I got really still, I slowed things right down and I sat with uncertainty.
An image came to mind of several different paths that my life could take, and I imagined what it would be like to venture down each of them. When I saw the path I am currently on it seemed long and interesting, it opened up to new and wonderful landscapes, I imagined myself flying down the path. There were darker parts, more difficult moments, bad patches of weather and times where I couldn’t see beyond the thickness of the trees. But the overall feeling I had was aliveness, and when I imagined other paths one thing stood out, I always imagined myself wanting to be back on the path I’m on right now, difficult moments and all.
So my stillness, my slowing things down offered me the chance to see the bigger picture of the path I’m on, to see that yes some times do throw challenges my way, but ultimately it’ll all be worth it.
In any project you’re involved in, any area where you’re stepping into new and uncomfortable territory slow things down, see the bigger picture and let the clarity appear.
*Image by Ales Krivec, www.unsplash.com