It’s Monday, things are going sideways, your plans are falling apart, the proverbial stuff is hitting the fan and things are not going your way. Adversity is staring you straight in the eyes trying to get you to back down in the face of your fears.
What happens next? For most people, the first thing that happens is uncertainty.
Uncertainty weakens the person in the arena. Uncertainty creates separation between your vision, belief system, and goals. Uncertainty fractures you spiritually between the person you know you can be and the person that you now think you are. Uncertainty also forces you to build walls between yourself and others. And uncertainty fosters fear, doubt and drains your energy. What can you do?
5 Steps to Overcome Uncertainty:
1. Stop arguing with reality.
When you argue with reality, you’re always wrong. If you argue with reality you’re going to lose. See things as they are, not as you want them to be. Look at whatever you’re going through based on the truth, facts, and accuracy, not the story you tell yourself to justify your actions and behaviors. Don’t talk about your would’ves, could’ves, should’ves, but didn’ts. If you don’t like your reality, what can you do to change it? Don’t worry about changing others. What others think, feel, say and do is out of your control. Change yourself. Take back your power.
2. Quit being a fatalist. Quit thinking worst-case scenario.
Your mind is always going to bring you to the worst-case scenario when everything hits the fan. The way to get yourself out of it is to ask: “Is it really as bad as I think it is?” or, “Is this as bad as it’s going to get?” or, “Could things be worse?” Don’t waste your energy on things that are not going to bring you certainty. If you focus on the problems, it will drain your energy, and probably result in some level of problem. However, if you focus on solutions, it will give
3. Don’t beat yourself up.
Uncertain states can lead you to feel like you shouldn’t be there, and you start feeling at fault or to blame. This leads to guilt and shame. These are not serving emotions. Instead, get empowered by taking ownership and responsibility. Forgive yourself for allowing yourself to get into your current situation. Give yourself permission to learn and grow from the experience. Then take the time necessary to create a plan to grow from your circumstances instead of becoming a victim of them. You are smarter and stronger than you think. In future instances of uncertainty, you can reflect back on your experience and how you got through it, and project yourself upward rather than downward.
4. Update old programming – the lies you’ve been telling yourself.
No matter how much personal development books, seminars, podcasts, etc. you consume or how much therapy you’ve had, the moment you feel uncertain, your old programming will override your operating system in a situation where you must rise to the occasion. To upgrade your operating system, identify the lies your mind is telling you. This is your old programming that is not in harmony with your new software. Perform a manual override and operate on your new programming. Pay attention to your self-talk to discover the lies. The lies are doubt, fear, and anxiety that get you to play small and scared. Whatever the lie is, there’s always the truth. This is your higher self. Your reality.
5. Be truthful with yourself.
When you get honest with yourself, you discover your truth. It is the higher version of you that will lead to certainty. It takes nine positive statements to override every negative statement you say to yourself. It’s imperative that we speak our truth. Your inner voice needs to reflect your truth to create certainty. Finding certainty is an inside job. Connect with your truth or you’ll always believe the lies.
Uncertainty leads to doubt, hesitation, procrastination, inability to make decisions, and second-guessing yourself.
Uncertainty is contagious. When you experience uncertainty, people around you will feel it – customers, coworkers, family, friends. Everyone. Uncertainty leads to doubt, hesitation, procrastination, inability to make decisions, and second-guessing yourself. It can be paralyzing. You lose focus, direction, and purpose.
Realize that, regardless of what you’re going through now or in the future, you’re not the only one who’s ever been through this challenge. Look to others for help and look for the strength knowing that you got yourself in to this situation, so you can get yourself out of this situation. What’s the lesson you are refusing to learn that would open a new path? You can also be a beacon of inspiration for someone else facing uncertainty. Focusing on uncertainty never leads to a solution. When you experience uncertainty, remember who you are – you are smart, strong, capable, willing, determined, and you will not be denied.
Shatter self-limiting beliefs, disrupt old patterns and conditioning based on past experiences. Go beyond your comfort zone to discover your purpose and rise to the moment.
As Zig Ziglar says “You were designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness.” Know you are destined for greater things. The challenges and uncertainty you experience in life are the gifts intended to shape you into the person you need to become to be ready for what’s next. You need to seek harmony with certainty and uncertainty much like light and darkness. You must take some risks to grow, evolve, and make an impact.
Leaders seek out uncertainty, challenge the status quo, and bring certainty to themselves and everyone around them every day. Certainty comes from not knowing how things will play out but believing you will always find a way upward because you know your purpose, who and what is most important, and are being divinely guided by the universe and highest version of yourself.
Now, go forward with confidence.
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Drew Cameron is billed as, "America’s Most Sought-After Sales and Marketing Strategy and Success Advisor to Home Services Contractors." He is president of both Flow Odyssey and Energy Design Systems, LLC; a premier alliance providing industry-leading marketing and sales consultative support as well as sales recruiting, training, coaching, software tools and performance enhancement for Home Services Contactors. Drew is a renowned author, speaker, educator, coach, consultant, software developer, philanthropist, and an International Consultant Award Winner. Drew is also a Board member, Foundation Board Trustee, and a Contractor University Founder and Faculty member for Electric and Gas industries Association (EGIA); and president of the Cameron Family Foundation. Contact Drew at 610-745-7020; [email protected].
