Uncertainty
Uncertainty is one of the more challenging things about what we're going through right now.
Uncertainty is scary. We feel like we have no control over our circumstances, and it's hard to prepare for what is coming when you don't know what to expect.
But we never have control; we only have the perception of control.
I have a Ph.D. in imaging the worst-case scenario. I lived in that space for yeeeaaarrrrs. I wanted to be able to spot any potential danger and have a plan in place to "protect myself."
My motto for many years was, "Expect the worst, and something better will always happen." If I always expected the worst, I could never feel disappointed. Clever, I thought. Wrong.
I just ended up focusing more on the "bad" things so I couldn't be "caught off guard." It felt safe. But what I didn't realize was my pursuit of protection prevented me from creating more of what I wanted in my life. I was hyperfocused on what I didn't want and spent all of my energy avoiding that.
I can only imagine how that version of me would handle what we're going through now—hot mess express.
I still have all of those fearful thoughts; I just don't give them much air time.
That version of me would have a hitchhiking route planned to get me to Denver, so I could live off the land, find a place with edible berries, live in a van down by the river, get a compass, a guard dog, and a stick. LOL
The big difference is I don't indulge in fearful thoughts anymore. I have them, acknowledge them, and then re-focus my brain on positive alternatives.
I'm realistic with what is going on in the world, and I give myself space to process it all. But I still get to decide how I want to show up each day. And so do you. Some days are easier than others, but it's always a choice.
Uncertainty with resistance is a disaster.
Uncertainty with acceptance and compassion (for yourself and others) is an entirely different ballgame.
We can all recognize what we do and don’t control and decide how we want to show up each day (regardless of what is showing up in the outside our control column.)
Here’s a poem a friend of mine shared on Facebook that relates to what each of us are going through right.
💗💗Kathleen O’Meara (1839-1888), a writer from the late Victorian period during a pandemic:
“And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and grew gardens full of fresh food, and learned new ways of being, and were still.
And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they themselves had been healed 💗💗💗
Machele Galloway is a Certified Life Coach through The Life Coach School. She's based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and specializes in helping her clients manage their time and their minds. She firmly believes that you can't manage one without managing the other. She virtually coaches women nationwide. If she isn't coaching clients, she is studying concepts and techniques. And if she isn't doing that, she's probably playing with a dog somewhere. - “Life is short. Play a little.”
Click here to book your free consultation if you’re interested in working with me one-on-one.
