A guide to handling uncertainty with confidence
With mass layoffs, corporate restructurings, and economic instability, you're likely dealing with thoughts of uncertainty.
Uncertainty can feel like a looming dark cloud that hovers over our day-to-day lives. It may leave you waiting for the other shoe to drop or worried about the worst case scenarios.
When we let uncertainty loom over us like this, it can block us from our talents and showing up with our full potential. We often exert extra energy on the worrying, frustration, and overwhelm instead of focusing on what we can control.
Last month I was confronted with uncertainty and change constantly. I spoke at six different events, partnering with a different organization each time, all at different locations, with different topics or presentation needs. Phew, it's a lot even to acknowledge!
My favorite curve ball to highlight is the first talk of the month where I was giving an informal presentation to a young professional networking group at a brewery. The group meets every month at the same brewery like clockwork. This time the brewery accidentally double booked their meeting space so they told us we could use their 'private' space in the back... it was their brewing space. So all 30 of us huddled around the beer brewing equipment while I shared my tips about goal-setting for the new year (see pictures). I'm typically used to (and more comfortable) in professional meeting rooms so I had to quickly adjust and go with the flow. And you know what? People loved it! We were still able to connect, share stories, and attendees walked away with new learnings.
When others applauded how I handled situations like this one with confidence, I realized that this is a skill I've learned over time that I can teach others!
Keep reading for three tips to allow you to deal with change and uncertainty while still showing up at your best:
1.Be flexible - remember that change is constant
One thing I know for sure is that the only thing constant in life is change. And honestly, if things always stayed the same we would all get pretty bored.
So why not learn to expect and embrace change?
When you're making goals and plans, it's always best to leave some wiggle room for 'life' to happen.
Someone may get sick, your coworker may quit, or a venue may double book your space.
If your goals and plans are too strict, when change happens it will completely throw you off track. This is where a lot of people never recover. They get so discouraged that they are too overwhelmed to adjust and want to start over or completely give up.
Instead: always expect something will change along the way and consider it a learning opportunity
I could have let the downgraded venue space throw me off, instead I embraced it and we all laughed about how the hoses in the space sounded like someone peeing in the corner (lol still laughing about that one).
Ways to be more flexible:
Add buffers to your timelines
Be ready and willing to think on your feet instead of giving up
When you're feeling frustrated by change, ask yourself - what can I learn from this experience?
2. Stay committed - to your values instead of the outcome
When we're hyper-focused on one specific outcome (and what it will look like when we finally get 'there'), we often close ourselves off to new opportunities.
We end up putting one outcome on a pedestal in our mind and nothing else will make us happy until that exact scenario happens.
The problem is, we can't predict the future. We'll never know exactly how it will go so we are setting ourselves up for disappointment.
Instead: stay committed to your values as your guiding light along the way.
Your values are the beliefs that are most important to you to live by.
It can help you stay open to new opportunities and outcomes that could end up being even better than what you originally had in mind. All by staying true to what's most important to you.
Ways to stay committed:
Imagine three other ways your goal/project could play out
List your values somewhere you can read often
When you're feeling hung up on the outcome, ask yourself - how can I lean into my values today?
3. Know your why - to stay motivated & confident
When dealing with a lot of uncertainty, we tend to get distracted and discouraged by not knowing how things will play out, so we shut down.
We forget what we were even working towards to begin with and throw a pity party for ourselves. Struggle bus: party of one!
Forget motivation and confidence: we’re barely able to focus enough to take next steps.
Instead: it's so important to keep your 'why' top of mind as your biggest motivator.
Your why is your deepest truth behind what motivates you. Try asking yourself your 'why' five times for a specific goal to get to the real root of it. Oftentimes our first few responses are the surface level motivators, but not what's actually most important to us.
Whenever you're feeling discouraged, lost, or overwhelmed, you can go back to your why to motivate yourself to move forward in an aligned way, no matter what is going on around you.
Ways to know your why:
Ask yourself 'what is your why' five times to get the deepest truth
Write/post this somewhere you will see often
When you're feeling lost in uncertainty - ask yourself - why am I even doing this?
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Brittany is a life & leadership coach, trainer, and the founder of Hello Velocity where she helps ambitious individuals and corporate teams enhance their performance by working smarter, not harder. When she isn't building her business, you can find her planning her next travel adventure, taking a yoga or kickboxing class, or checking out a local brewery. She was recently acknowledged as one of the top coaches in Charlotte, NC.
