Note: This article is from blogger Celestine Chua, who shares her approach and personal experience in dealing with uncertainty in life.
Please read the following lines as I continue to discuss the remaining techniques in this second and final section of the article with personal examples.
How to deal with uncertainty?
2. Living life naturally without uncertainty
The second method is based on living life naturally in isolation from uncertainty; you must identify the decisions and actions you will take in your life without this problem and act on this basis.
Example: Concerns related to a specific job
My friend's uncertainty made me think of one of my former clients. The client was a well-known international technology company's part-time consultant who worked as a successful business consultant for their company and investment firm. In six months, they planned to transition to full-time employment. That is an opportunity of a lifetime; if the job offer is accepted, it will be a prestigious role with a high salary.
The client made a lot of effort to set up this meeting, and he was worried the company's owners would not show interest in hiring him in the long run. The meeting was repeatedly postponed due to their busy schedules.
Hence the dilemma: what should my client do?
- Should he continue to seek to arrange a meeting and get a response on the job offer? But in this case, he will appear harsh and reduce his chances of being chosen.
- Should he hold off on making decisions to expedite matters until the company's owners decide? But what if they keep postponing the final decision? Will this be the end of his association with the company?
The uncertainty confused my client because he wanted the job so badly that he postponed all his plans, hoping to get them. Therefore, when the job offer became uncertain, his life was shaken.
I advised my client to follow his path and not worry about the job offer. When I asked him what he would have done if he hadn't been given the chance to work at the company in the first place, my client said he would have kept building his investment firm and building his reputation as a business advisor and investment trainer.
I told him that since the job is not guaranteed, he should pursue the job offer with the company's owners until he hears back from them. In the meantime, he should live his life as it naturally unfolds and pursue his personal goals.
He thanked me and explained that he had put off decisions in life in the hopes of obtaining the job opportunity, which was why he was confused about the suspended job offer. He continued by saying that he had not previously recognized the delay in his life goals. As a result, he ultimately decided to focus on his objectives as usual and not worry about the job offer being inherently unstable.
After focusing on his objectives, my client's uncertainty subsided. He accepted his circumstances even though he hadn't heard anything new regarding the job offer he was considering. A few weeks later, the previously mentioned company extended an offer of employment, which came with an excellent salary.
3. Achieving certainty in critical matters and ignoring the rest
Every situation one encounters has both significant and insignificant components. According to the third approach, you should get certainty on the crucial elements while ignoring the others because their implications are unimportant.
Example: Moving to a new country
Imagine you have recently relocated to a foreign nation, are jobless, lack income, lack friends, living in substandard housing, and are lucky if your savings last another week. Your life is in limbo, and it's unclear what the future holds.
What can you do in this situation?
You must focus on stabilizing your life's core aspects to face such uncertainty. For most people, these aspects include financial security and stable housing.
- In terms of financial stability, you can take on a few part-time jobs or borrow money from friends back home, which you can pay back as soon as you find employment. This step helps you temporarily until you create a long-term work plan for your life. When you care for your short-term financial issues, you can set aside the time required to find a job that aligns with your goals.
- Once your finances are in order, you can look for housing by contacting homeowners for assistance or looking through Google and classified ads. Allocate a few weeks to your apartment search, and keep going until you locate a suitable space that satisfies your requirements. It's important not to worry about other issues during this period.
How did I manage uncertainty during my travels?
I once took a seven-month trip filled with uncertainty, visiting Europe and the USA.
I traveled aimlessly and without a set itinerary, moving to different locations as needed, such as when I was asked to take part in a project, when a reader or customer offered to host me in their home, or when I felt it was time to continue my travels. Because of this, I had no idea where I would be next week, let alone which nation or city.
I managed the daily uncertainty at the time by concentrating on the crucial elements all the time. For example, I would focus on finding a decent place to live that meets my needs if the president's priority at a given moment was finding housing. However, I would figure out how to get there without thinking about anything else to take care of urgent matters if my concern was to get to the following location safely.
Using this strategy to manage everyday uncertainty allowed me to enjoy my travels, see many fantastic places, meet many wonderful people, and fully immerse myself in the cultures I visited, all without worrying about the journey itself.
In conclusion
You can benefit from the three methods mentioned above in dealing with uncertainties in your life. The feeling of uncertainty is not bad, yet some people find it worrying and resist it.
My experiences have taught me that change is a constant in life and that uncertainty is natural. If we resist change, which also denies the purpose of our existence, we cannot innovate, transform, or create meaningfully in the universe.
Uncertainty shapes our personalities and teaches us significant lessons in life. Fear, discomfort, and uncertainty are the emotions that point us toward the direction of life's advancement.
While dealing with uncertainty, you should realize that it is an issue that does not require resistance. Instead, you should focus on living in the moment and overcoming challenges head-on without letting them interfere with your quality of life. Remember that no one can control the circumstances of life, but we can control how we respond to them.
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