Uncertainty

We all have days when we are uncertain about life and the path we are on. We may wish to know where we are headed now and what the likely outcome of our current path will be. But we aren’t time travellers and we can’t see into the future. So how can we deal with it?

You are never going to know everything 100% of the time. Life is a journey containing many steps, (please see my last post), you are essentially doing your best to lead a fulfilling and exciting life.

There may be times when you feel you are in the wrong job or in the wrong relationship. You may be happier to stick it out because you know it, and don’t want to have to let go and change. Your job may be causing you anxiety, stress and you dread going in each day. Once you are there, you go through the daily rituals you need to get your work completed and make everyone happy (except you) and whether you are bored, stressed, anxious, no longer like what you do, or just dislike it full stop, you keep putting yourself back in the situation day after day as it is much easier than the alternative. You don’t want to live with the uncertainty in your life that your next role could be the same, or the people might be horrible or go to the effort of changing jobs, when you can do this one knowing all the downsides, just isn’t worth the hassle.

However, you could end up in a role that makes your heart sing and dance and you get the spark you once had back.

There might be times if you are lucky enough to be in a position where you can quit your current role before you have found an alternative. This may not be possible, most of us still have bills to pay and cannot afford to take time out. But if it was for your happiness, and you take the money out of it, how would you feel then?

There has to be uncertainty in life, otherwise life would no longer be a journey or an adventure, it would be a To Do list of things to tick off. We want life to have points of unknown and be happily surprised and even challenged at times.

But even in the situations mentioned above, surely it’s also better to know what no longer suits you, what doesn’t work for you and what you dislike. Then you can make an informed choice the next time and take what you have learnt into consideration. 

If you think about the times in your life when you have had to make big decision like leaving your job, ending a relationship, moving house/location, you have come through it with more knowledge than you had beforehand, you came through it and got to a positive place, you came through it, you succeeded in you plan. There may have been moments of uncertainty and even dread and regret but the truth is, you know what’s right for you, your gut knows, your heart knows, getting them to align can be tricky. But I would always say if you have doubt in your gut, listen to it. Your intuition is your inner compass and knows you and knows when something isn’t right. Listen to it. Follow it and know, some people may not agree with what decision you are making, they may say you will regret it. But I never believe you will regret following your gut instinct.  It is YOUR life, not anyone else’s so always do what is right by you.

There have been a few occasions in the last few years where I haven’t followed my gut and instead been persuaded by other people. One was regarding a job interview through an agency, I went for the interview, got on well, but decided that if I got picked for second interview I would decline it as the timing was all wrong. I told the agent and she persuaded me to go for it….I didn’t want to and tried to pull out of it, but was met with, ‘it’s good practice and you never know you might like it’. So I prepared a presentation, went to the interview and then next day I get a call, offering me the role and explaining the salary etc. I said I needed to think about it, the agent was all happy and excited. My gut was screaming NO at me, I talked to Scott about it, a girl at work about it as I still didn’t know what to do. Except I did, my gut was still screaming at me and had been since after the first interview. Everything about this role was great, but the timing was wrong. For me if it was a yes, it would have been an easy yes. The fact that I was asking people to help me make a decision made me realise it had to be a NO. My gut was right, it was a NO. I phoned the agency and told her, she was surprised but I told her the timing was off.

After that I realised I should listen to my instincts more, they know me better than I do and know what sits right with me.

My advice to you is listen to your intuition, follow your gut and don’t let others try to push you in a direction your instinct is telling you to avoid. Uncertainty can be good, it can lead to fun and adventure and a new journey. Embrace it and even though it can be scary at times don’t let fear take over.

Have a lovely week and look after you. 🤩

Emma

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