To a certain extent, you can control the level of certainty in your life but there’s no guarantee it’ll stay that way forever. Yes, certainty is vital – we all need a sense of security and safety that brings an element of stability in our lives. But, there’s no guarantee you’ll always have it.
I’ve been learning that a lot lately and the more I try to control my need for certainty, the more uncertain my life became!
Lori Deshene says it as it is, “The reality is that tomorrow is most certainly uncertain, and no matter how many expectations we form, tomorrow will come, tomorrow will go, and it will all be what it will be.”
Quite humbling, isn’t it? Pretty scary too and yet, if you can lean into that reality, your life won’t only bring you some sense of certainty. But it will also open your eyes to the endless opportunities waiting to be tapped into – every single day.
How to Bring Certainty Into Your Life
The first step to handling life without guarantees is accepting that it’s going to always be uncertain. The mere act of acceptance allows you to feel safe and to identify what you can do to create less fear around uncertainty.
How you respond (or react) to a life with no guarantees will determine whether you behave in a constructive OR destructive way. Meeting your most human basic need for security and safety healthily can be done in the following ways.
Focus On What YOU Can Control
Chronic worrying and future-tripping is a waste of time and dangerous for your health too. Lost a job? Commit to sending in applications every day. Need more income? Tap into your innate talents and develop side hustles that are fun and creative. These are things that allow you to take back your personal power and feel in control.
Living a simpler life with less material demands or desires allows you to fund and find time for your physiological needs and this in itself, brings you certainty.
Tolerate the Inevitable
Uncontrollable circumstances are going to happen. You can choose to fight them and run the risk of burnout, heart attack or worse. Or, you can view the circumstances as something that will come and go when the time is right. All you can do is sit with it while focusing on what you can control.
Creating a goal that talks to your life purpose and core values is a good place to start. By taking small action steps every day, you can allow the inevitable to happen while still heading in the direction that's right for you.
Be Mindful
Self-awareness is key to managing emotions that could run amok when life becomes unpredictable, day after day. Mindfulness lets you deal with the fears and negativity that arises when you’re facing an uncertain life.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed, you can use practices such as meditation and yoga to build your resilience while bringing in more positivity and hopefulness.
Stay Present
When all else fails, stay present! This is my favourite approach to dealing with life’s uncertainties. By staying present, I CAN control overthinking, stressing, dwelling in the past, and heading downwards into a future scenario that’s only an illusion after all!
Life can’t guarantee tomorrow will even happen or that it will be a happy day. It most certainly can’t guarantee a different past that has already taken place. It is what it is. Move on and focus on NOW, in the moment. Only then will you see the opportunities that are waiting for you to take them.
“Live life for the moment because everything else is uncertain!” – Louis Tomlinson
Embracing Struggles Lets You Find New Opportunities
The journey of life takes you through valleys and peaks and when all is good and well, the guarantees don’t matter so much. But, when your journey becomes unpredictable and even scary, you may want to run for the hills.
Alternatively, embracing the struggles puts you in a responsive mode and lets you view the world through a different pair of lens. All of sudden, uncertainty forces you to look for possibilities and opportunities where before it wasn’t necessary. Only then does true growth take place.
The Benefits of Life Without Guarantees
During times of adversity, you may wonder what are the benefits of life without guarantees. From my own personal experience, I can share with you what happened when I was faced with uncertainty:
Personal growth: I finally had to face years of suppressed emotions that were negatively affecting my overall well-being. Through self-empowerment tools, sessions with my therapist and shaman teacher, I continued to develop and grow as a person instead of stagnating. I learned some hard lessons just when I thought I was done and dusted! The path of growth never ends.
Simplicity: The more uncontrollable my life became, the more I craved simplicity. Decluttering my mind and physical possessions made it easier for me to manage my energy levels and to vibrate on a higher scale. That in itself brought in more opportunities similar to the cliché, “The closing of one door opens another.”
An awareness of new avenues: When I’m not coaching my clients, I’m writing blogs for customers worldwide. However, ChatGPT and AI has caused some turmoil in the copywriting industry, forcing me to look for other opportunities. Who would have thought I would turn to fashion and start selling beautiful clothing to uplift women? Exploring new avenues is adventurous and I’m having so much fun with my online Free Spirit Store.
Stepping into my courage: When facing an uncertain life, you have two options. Dig a hole and bury yourself OR go deep and find your courage. An unguaranteed life forces you to identify your innate strengths and have courage to use them to their full potential. Focusing on your strengths enables you to grow your confidence and self-esteem while giving you the courage to grab new opportunities and possibilities.
A life without guarantees teaches you to be patient, persistent, forgiving, empathetic, and wise. These traits are opportunities in themselves – imagine never being given the chance to develop them? Thank goodness for uncertainty!
Final Thoughts
We all wish for a trouble-free life that’s constantly certain, smooth, and predictable. However, most of us face many paths of tribulations, some more than others. Would I change my life up to now? Most certainly some parts of it, yes.
Did I find it easy to embrace the struggles? No. But, I’m always grateful for the lessons I learn and the possibilities that expand my perspectives on life.
Through life’s uncertainties and new opportunities, I’ve been able to mend broken relationships, discover my life purpose, go on adventures, and manifest a simpler lifestyle. I’ve met incredible people along the way, reconnected with my Higher Power, and discovered an endless well of resilience and love.
I wake up every day wondering what opportunities are going to land in my lap, giving me hope and promise of a fulfilling life in the moment. You can do the same by accepting life doesn’t bring you guarantees but rather uncertainties so you can discover your own true potential.
Contact me today and let’s talk about taking back your personal power through life coaching while learning to embrace a life without guarantees.