UNCERTAINTY IS UNAVOIDABLE.
But it doesn’t mean we don’t try. How many countless hours of human energy are spent trying to eradicate the uncomfortable feelings uncertainty can create?
Sometimes we use up so much energy on planning strategies to avoid unwanted outcomes that we become too exhausted to execute them. Sometimes we feel frozen from the fear of our imagined future challenges.
THIS IS CALLED ANALYSIS PARALYSIS.
It’s the state we sometimes put ourselves in when we try to plan our future by examining all the things that could go wrong and mapping out a path to avoid them.
This is not an effective strategy, because it employs two very ineffective tools: fear and assumption. Furthermore, there is absolutely no possible way to know exactly what may go wrong (or right) in the future.
Uncomfortable uncertainty is the fog that clouds our creative insight with fear and assumption.
THE ANTIDOTE FOR THIS UNCOMFORTABLE UNCERTAINTY (AND THE STATE OF ANALYSIS PARALYSIS IT CAUSES) IS TRUST.
So how do you get from a state of analysis paralysis to a state of trust and acceptance?
The first step is to observe and acknowledge that you are in a state of fear and assumption. It’s a terribly uncomfortable place to be, so it’s not hard to recognize.
When you recognize this, you give yourself the gift of an opportunity to step out of the discomfort. Now you can make a conscious decision to choose something other than this crazy-making ineffective process.
I RECOMMEND TAKING THESE STEPS WHEN YOU COME TO THIS REALIZATION:
- Stop what you are doing.
- Close your eyes.
- Take three deep breaths.
- Connect with your intuition (also known as your gut, your body, your higher knowing, etc.)
From this place you are more and more likely to make decisions that are rooted in your values and highest goals. When you are in a state of trust, you are not concerned about unknown challenges that may appear on your path. You know that whatever obstacles do appear, you will find the tools to overcome them, because you are focused on the goal, not the obstacles.
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And if you know a friend or neighbor who could use hearing the advice in this article or needs The Job I Love Toolkit, please forward this to them.