3 minute read
Emotional fitness: transforming our relationship with uncertainty
Emotional fitness is preparedness for the challenges, pressures, and stresses that life can bring.
First thing we must appreciate about uncertainty is that it is a precursor to all growth. Growth is a requirement of life and therefore uncertainty is something we need to remain alive and well. Unfortunately, most people correlate uncertainty with fear instead of growth. There are many reasons why people are frightened of uncertainty. What if we can change this?
People often associate uncertainty with getting out of our comfort zone. This is typically doing something we have never done before. In other words, this is doing something with zero reference points. Examples could include learning any new skill, or moving to an unknown foreign country, basically, doing something we have never done.
Uncertainty prepares us for the road ahead in our lives. It prepares us for the next level. It provides us with the skills for our ever-expanding responsibilities. Could the 2010 version of you handle your current life? Probably not. The version of my life today would completely overwhelm the 2010 version of me.
There is a big difference between getting out of our comfort zone and expanding our comfort zone. Getting out of our comfort zone normally means we are having a new experience with minimal if any reference points. In other words, it is literally entry into the unknown. It is the first time we are experiencing that thing. For example, going to an overseas non-English speaking country for the first time was getting out of my comfort zone.
I had zero past experiences (reference points) to draw on. It was literally entering the unknown. These experiences are significant for our growth. This kind of growth can be intense in a great way.
These experiences provide us with huge psychological growth spurts and prove to be very effective. I can still clearly remember the first time my wife and I flew to a foreign country, where we had zero reference points of experience to draw on. A month later when we returned to Australia, we both felt and knew we could handle so much more! Suddenly minor incidental things that used to challenge us, no longer bothered us.
On the other hand, expanding our comfort zone has many familiar reference points. In other words, we are having an experience that is different yet familiar at the same time. For example, even though I have been a runner for some thirty years, entering a marathon, is an expansion of comfort zone. I have the many years of experience to draw on, but in a new and unfamiliar situation. There is growth to be had here too.
The final tip here is that most people don’t like change (uncertainty), but they want to grow. All change leads to growth either immediately or sometime soon. Anytime we are facing change, see it for what it really is, a growth opportunity. We need to grow into our future, so we can handle whatever our future lives will demand.
Thank you for reading.
Love
Joe
