09 Apr How to Navigate Uncertainty When Everything Seems Chaotic

Uncertainty is hard to handle for most

These days, you’re surrounded by uncertainty. You’re at home, relentlessly checking the news, and waiting for what’s to come next — often expecting the worst.

Everyone is wondering how bad it will get. How much longer you’ll have to endure being closed between four walls, in a reality that seems like a science-fiction movie.

You’re not alone, we’re now living and operating in a very different world from a month or two ago. Everyone is going through the same rollercoaster of emotions, so you’re allowed to feel overwhelmed by it all.

Times will get better, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you’ll get through this. Days like these act as character-builders and are learning opportunities for how to navigate uncertainty and motivate yourself to keep pushing forward.

I know I hate uncertainty. I like to feel in control of myself, my surroundings, and my immediate future, which has made it incredibly hard to plan and adjust. New situations and curveballs seem to keep coming my way. I check the latest news, speak to friends and family, and try to keep a normal and balanced life through a daily routine and lots of self-reflection.

What I’ve learned in the past 4 weeks of quarantine in Spain is that no matter how hard I try to plan ahead, things won’t always go my way. But I work hard on staying positive and hopeful that things will get better and our lives will go back to normalcy.

I came up with three things that have been keeping me going through this crazy adventure, and I wanted to share them with you. Hopefully, you’ll leave this article with some new knowledge you can apply to your own individual situation:

Have a vision

Having a vision gives you a goal and an optimal outcome to ultimately strive for. Having a grand vision strengthens you with hope as you see things through and acts as the North Star in guiding your behavior.

Developing a long-term vision will help you cope with hesitation and confusion so you can focus on your path to success. So what’s your bigger picture vision? Where do you want to end up or what do you want to achieve? It may be world peace, a cleaner environment, or something closer to home like a promotion or better health. What’s the vision that will keep you thriving despite the setbacks and the uncertainty you may be facing?

I have a simple vision. I’d like to finish the quarantine with new skills and appreciation for doing activities at home.

I used to always go out, on weekends and in the evenings after work, never really stopping to take a breather and enjoy the comfort of my own space. Now, I’m spending more time discovering activities indoors and learning to be a more balanced person. So that the future I don’t push myself to go out just for the sake of it.

Reap the benefits of humility

Humility is knowing you can’t control everything. You may not always have all the facts or the full picture. Although we have a hard time with this in our need for certainty and control, we can actually benefit from not knowing at times.

Modesty and humility are not the same thing. In being modest, we’re aware of knowing something but avoid showing off our knowledge. Humility means opening ourselves up to other points of view, to other ways of finding meaning, and thus to the positivity that will counteract our sense of insecurity.

Humility fosters growth, keeps you hungry for new knowledge, and in changing times, it keeps you open to other opportunities around you. Even as things don’t seem to pan out the way we’d like them to.

Establish a minimal routine

Set your alarm clock for the same time each morning, dedicate specific times of the days to exercise or reading, and put together a to-do list for what you’d like to accomplish that day. Also, coffee. These small tasks and plans can make your days a bit more bearable, especially when everything outside of your four walls seems chaotic.

I make my bed each morning and clean frequently to keep my space as cozy and welcoming as possible. It helps to keep me feeling organized and motivated!

Here’s my article on how activities while social distancing.

Let go

The last tip to deal with uncertainty is to let go and accept that you can’t always have everything under control. This is more of a character test, to see if you’re one of those people who fall for the “Iceberg beliefs”. These beliefs are the big, deep, and mostly vague assumptions about the way the world works. For example, thinking “I should never experience uncertainty” or “If I feel lost it’s because I’m not doing something right”, which leads you to take uncertainty as a sign of failure and can be especially challenging.

If you’re one of those people, try replacing such beliefs with more grounded and open-minded ones, like “uncertainty may not be the best situation, but it’s tolerable and acceptable”.

In my experience, in the past I’ve been firmly convinced my whole life that uncertainty happens when I make a wrong move. I mistakenly blame myself for the choices that brought me to this point, often wallowing in self-doubt and confusion. To counteract this tendency, I’ve replaced my conviction with a more realistic one. If I catch myself being angry or sad over my situation, I remind myself that it’s something out of my control and I have to learn to operate in my new reality. So I get to work on developing healthy habits to adapt and thrive amidst uncertainty.

So, acknowledge that there is only so much that you can do at the moment– which makes you human, not powerless or inept. Things will start clearing up soon enough and bright skies will come your way. In the meantime, be kind to yourself, and don’t beat yourself up over something uncontrollable.