Use Uncertainty to Your Advantage
Coaching
You can't avoid the unknown, but doubt doesn't have to distract you from progress.
- We don't have the power to know how the future will play out (duh), but we can turn that uncertainty into fuel for growth.
- This isn't your first time dealing with doubt. Remind yourself of all the ways you've pushed through in the past.
- Looking at the big, undetermined picture is overwhelming. Breaking down baby steps to your goal and tackling them one at a time isn't.
Read on to learn more …
No one can predict the future, not even that psychic who somehow knew you'd adopt a dog. And as most of us know, life can be very unpredictable. Whether we like it or not, that uncertainty often leads to doubt: will I get into my dream school? Am I really ready to rock this marathon? Am I going to land that job? Every moment ahead of the one you're in is undecided. Uncertainty is inevitable.
Which is why getting even more comfortable with it can help tame your anxiety—and may even be the push you need to get closer to the goals that feel out of reach. "The only thing given in this world is change. The more we can accept that, the more change can feel exciting, like an infusion of new energy", says Mollie Eliasof, a psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker in New York City.
Why Uncertainty Throws Us Off
It's human nature to let doubt creep in when we don't know what's coming. To our early ancestors, "uncertainty equalled danger and needed to be avoided at all costs", says Robin Buckley, PhD,