Navigating change and transition can make us feel uncertain about our identity and our future. Can a Christian life coach help me through this process?
Are you experience change and transition in your life?
I don’t know about you, but living with uncertainty is hard for me. I crave information about the future in the same way I crave food, connection, and my other primary needs. My brain perceives ambiguity as a threat, and it tries to protect me by taking away my ability to focus on anything other than creating certainty. I have learned that sometimes it’s more effective for me not to attempt to create certainty. My brain might be rigged to resist uncertainty, but I can never really know what the future will bring.
TIPS TO HELP YOU WITH UNCERTAINTY
Don’t resist
Life can be challenging. But resisting reality won’t help us recover, learn, grow, or feel better. Actually, resistance prolongs our pain and difficulty by amplifying the challenging emotions we are feeling. Instead of resisting, we can practice acceptance. Acceptance is about meeting life where it is and moving forward from there. This doesn’t mean that you won’t feel frustrated or disappointed or saddened by the state of things. Acceptance is not the same as resignation, it doesn’t mean things will never get better. We aren’t accepting that things will stay the same forever; we’re only accepting whatever is actually happening at the moment. Maybe it will get better; maybe it won’t.
Invest in yourself
The best resource that you have right now for contributing to the world is YOU. When you deplete that resource, your most valuable asset is damaged. We don’t do well when we don’t take care of ourselves. We need to have relationships that bring us connection and meaning. You must get enough sleep. You need to spend time having fun and playing, just for the joy of it. Self-care is not selfish.
Don’t believe everything you think
Perhaps the most essential stress-reduction skill is not to believe everything you think. In uncertain times, it’s important not to believe thoughts that argue for the worst-case scenario. When we believe those stressful thoughts, we tend to react emotionally as though the worst case is already happening. We grieve for things we haven’t actually lost and react to events that are not actually happening. Instead of buying into every stressful thought, we can actively imagine the best possible scenario too. Sometimes we can find silver linings to replace our worries.
You can find meaning in the uncertainty.
We are motivated when we can impact other people. We’ll work harder and longer and better — and feel happier about the work we are doing when we know that we are impacting others. When we see something that needs improvement, our next step is to recognize what we can do to be a part of the solution. What skills and talents (or even just interests) can we bring to the issue? What really matters to us, and how can we be of service? When the world feels scary or uncertain, knowing what meaning we have for others and feeling a sense of purpose can ground us better than anything else.
Conclusion
Don’t just wait for the hard stuff to be over. You don’t need to be resigned to misery while you wait for the situation to resolve itself. What have you always wanted to do? What outcome are you hoping for? How can you make a real life during this time? Hire a Christian Life Coach and choose to live that life.
