The Empowerment Of Uncertainty
“Trust the wait. Embrace the uncertainty. Enjoy the beauty of becoming. When nothing is certain, anything is possible”—Mandy Hale
Whether we are aware of it at the time or not, we often look to derive meaning from crisis. Once the crisis is managed, we may have the clarity to reflect on how we have grown or what we have learned about ourselves in the process. We realize that we can do hard things; we can endure and maybe even thrive during dark times.
But what happens when the crisis is collective and ongoing, and at times feels entirely out of our control? When it’s the beginning of 2022 and we are about to enter the 3rd year of our lives being significantly impacted by the covid-19 pandemic? It can be very challenging to make plans, set goals, and identify meaning when so much feels (and is) uncertain.
I admit I am struggling with this myself and have been spending the last few weeks examining this from several angles in an attempt to alter my perspective and find meaning in my (our) current experience. In my field, we often refer to this as “reframing”. Reframing is a method of changing the way you look at something with a goal of changing how you experience it. To explain it simply, if you are having a particularly challenging day, you may conclude that “bad things always happen to me”. However, if you were to really take a closer look at your day, and consider your life over the course of weeks or months, you might be able to conclude that you had a “bad” day and maybe even reflect on the skills you utilized to get through the challenges presented. It’s much easier to move on, make changes, and build a positive sense of yourself from this latter view than from the former.
Through my personal examination, I’ve determined that it is the constant uncertainty that is driving my discomfort. In response, after allowing myself to most definitely experience moments of sadness, worry, and anger, I asked myself, “Ok, so what do I do with this?” Here’s where I am: there is a sense of empowerment that comes from uncertainty. When nothing is certain and the future seems a little murky and maybe even scary, why not just go for it? Why not say something to someone (or to the world) that you’ve been wanting to say, do something for yourself or someone else that you’ve wanted to do, or consider a choice or change that you previously told yourself was not possible or out of reach? I’m not suggesting anyone approach these things impulsively or with a sense of futility, but ask yourself, if nothing is certain, what could I be doing now to make my present reality more meaningful to me? Transforming uncertainty to empowerment is the ultimate reframe for me.