Episode 502 – Uncertainty builds resourcefulness

• I started this 500 series out with the topic of change
• It’s a topic that is near and dear to my heart because for the major part of my life I struggled with change
• I literally fell apart when something I had planned or counted on didn’t work out
• And this fear of failure held me back from many wonderful opportunities which involved risk that I wasn’t willing to take
• Today I am determined to not let myself be controlled by my fear of change anymore
• I want to manage change and I want as much as possible of it in my life
• I realized that when I make friends with change, change makes friends with me
• It becomes less scary, less intimidating
• And it begins to work with me and even work in my favor
• We tend to blame our limitations, our setbacks, and our misfortune on the changes that occurred in our life
  • All the negative circumstances that befell us
  • And I am not being dramatic here,
  • We all have bad luck at some point in our life
    • Circumstances that we didn’t plan on and that often don’t seem fair
  • They happen to even the luckiest of people
  • But they don’t have to decide the course of our lives
  • We cannot forget that we are still in charge
  • Our problems may not be our fault, but they are our responsibility
  • When our home floods with water due to a busted pipe, we take care of it because its our home
  • When we get sick, we take care of our body with medicine and rehabilitation
  • But we often neglect our heart
  • It gets injured as well
  • Pain is inevitable in this life but pain can be healed
  • It requires a commitment to self care
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  • Remember when I said in the previous episode that change is not hard?
  • It is only hard when we say it is
  • Change is life
  • Life is constant change
  • We need to come to terms with that and then we can manage change better
  • The reason we struggle with change is that it is uncertain
  • In our ancient world, uncertainty was a normal part of life
    • Everything starting from the next meal was in limbo
    • People didn’t have tools to predict the weather,
    • Or conveniences like stores and fast transportation
  • Every day was a new challenge with many problems to solve in order to ensure survival
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  • in today’s modern world, we are not used to uncertainty anymore
  • most of us in this country don’t have to worry about our next meal, where to sleep, or how to get from A to B
  • We can check almost anything online
  • There is very little that we have to wait for or are not sure about
    • Hit refresh and you are in the KNOW
  • Our modern day worries revolve less around present day survival but more about future life happiness
  • This, in my opinion isn’t bad but it creates a dilemma
  • Since we are more concerned about our future and how things will play out, we are at the same time less in control
  • Present problems such as lack of food or physical pain are attacked and resolved instantly
  • Future problems are perceived problems that have not yet taken place and are therefore difficult to address in this moment
  • We try
    • We buy enough so we don’t run out
    • We save enough so we are prepared
    • We plan and organize so we are ready
  • We try to ready ourselves for the future, with the hope to eliminate any potential surprises
  • But in the process, our ability to deal with uncertainty weakens
  • We become slaves to our routines and we lose our ability to think creatively and resourcefully
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  • This weekend, on our way home from climbing, the sun was setting as we were driving
  • And abruptly, I decided I wanted to see the sunset – not while driving in my car, but on top of a hill, in nature
  • So I took a left turn
  • There were hills to my left and I headed towards them
  • I didn’t look at my phone for directions
  • I just followed the roads that looked like they would lead to the mountains.
  • And minutes later we are watching the sunset on a lonely dead end road with no houses anywhere in sight
  • Surrounded by nature, crickets, and birds contributing their sounds
  • A beautiful ending to a day
  • Did I feel a little nervous without directions?
  • Of course, I wont lie about that
  • I don’t ever drive anywhere that I don’t know without my phone anymore
  • But I have to say, this also takes the surprise and the pleasure away
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  • I believe uncertainty makes us stronger because it builds resilience for the unexpected changes that hit us
  • Yes, we don’t have to worry about lions running after us or food not being available for dinner
  • But yet we still are faced with very real and basic threats
  • I am reminded of this these days as I am sitting in a smoke filled apartment in northern California, with all my devices plugged in in fear of losing power any moment
  • Electricity, fresh air, these are basic human needs that we have come to rely on 24/7
    • Suddenly I think about where I would go to work on my computer in case power went out
  • This is the creativity and resourcefulness we employ when we are forced to
  • Thing is – we are rarely forced anymore
  • Today I am a little frustrated with my colleagues
  • My office is shut down because there is no power in the area but somehow everyone took this as a holiday because nobody is online
  • I realize that some of the people may not have power, but there are plenty of public places with free Wifi that one can go to for a couple of hours
  • Especially during month end – a critical time for any retailer
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  • When change is running our life, we are not in charge
  • We become victims to our circumstances
  • And this makes us weak and powerless
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  • We can learn to manage change better by growing the muscle of uncertainty
  • By becoming comfortable with uncertainty
  • And we can do so by exposing ourselves to it more often
  • When I take off for the mountains, especially for the longer alpine routes that require long and difficult hikes, I am exposing myself to uncertainty
  • I walk away from my car with a pack on my back that has limited food and water and some extra clothing and I have to hope that it will suffice for whatever circumstances I encounter
  • The rest will depend on my me
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  • Ask yourself – what scares you most?
  • What are you afraid of?
  • That will give you an idea where you also might be limiting yourself
  • For a long time I guarded my money very carefully
  • I saved everything with hopes that it would be useful later
  • But then I realized, that I didn’t live in the now
  • I didn’t enjoy my life
  • I didn’t buy myself anything nor did I pursue anything because I was afraid to touch my savings
  • This has changed
  • Now I spend money on what I think is in line with my values but this also makes me more creative and resourceful
  • After I spend a lot money on my speaking program I am more driven to make that investment pay off
  • Paying for 2 gyms pushes me to use them both
  • What scares you?
  • are you worried about losing your job?
    • Then start looking for another one right now
  • Are you overly protective with your possessions?
    • Try to live without some of them for a while – including your car
  • Do you have health concerns?
    • Then become active now and change your eating habits
  • Do the things that scare you because by doing so you at the same time will address the fears you carry inside
  • what scares us wants to be addressed
  • I want to encourage all of us today to challenge ourselves more
  • And to invite uncertainty into our life
    • A talk with a stranger
    • An invitation to our home
    • A course on something new and foreign
    • An unplanned trip, alone
    • A new routine
    • A different direction
    • Another perspective
  • This is how we grow
  • This is how we become comfortable with the unknown
  • And this is how we make friends with change
  • And ultimately , this is how we find out more about ourselves

Give it a try my friends

Find something that scares you and head towards it

And then share with me how it felt

I would love to share your story on this podcast so others can be motivated as well

Much love