What 2020 taught me 🤓

Can we talk about how hard it is to keep going when you don’t know what the outcome of your efforts will be?

For most of my life I thought life was rather predictable. While I knew unexpected things could happen and that even meteorologists have trouble predicting the weather a week from now, I generally thought I had a good idea of how my life would turn out.

When I was a kid I thought I’d grow up to be an ornithologist (no joke! I love birds!). And for a while I was convinced I would go to theatre school and become an actor. Then after my Communications degree I got a full-time job with the government and I thought my life would be smooth sailing.

But my heart and soul obviously had other plans...

These days I often have to stop myself and go “wait a second, I’m doing something today that even a year ago didn’t even occur to me as a possibility!”

And if we’re talking about 2020, NOBODY could have foreseen the tectonic shifts that would take place in our everyday lives. As a yoga teacher and business owner, all my big events were cancelled and I had to pivot into this new reality of online learning. A year and a half ago, the idea that my trainings could one day be held entirely online wasn’t even on my radar. Yet here I am today, having taught my 200-hour YTT fully online last fall and gearing up for a second year of virtual learning. 

When we start to think about this idea of possibility—and how unpredictable life can be—it can feel both scary and exciting. Not knowing how things will turn out means we have to focus on the things we can control. So I choose to focus on the excitement instead of the fear.

That doesn’t mean I don’t get scared sometimes—we all do! But when I really think about it, when have I ever not learned what I needed to learn from an unexpected turn of events, or wound up exactly where I needed to be when I let go of needing to be in control of the outcome?

Whether we like it or not, 2020 came to remind us that uncertainty is part of being human and it’s in our faces more than ever today.

I now manage uncertainty by:

1. Focusing on what I want to happen—the outcome. I keep my eye on the prize. Looking forward to what I want helps me endure being uncomfortable because I know there’s an end in sight.
2. I think about what resources I have around me to help me through uncertain times. Resources can be people I can talk to and lean on, digital tools I have to organize my time, and reading from credible media sources about what their experts recommend.
3. Taking long walks in nature to clear my mind.
4. Journaling as soon as I feel fear about the uncertainty creep into my mind. I write about the specifics of my fear and if there are solutions.

Just like a tree learns to stay rooted in the wind, or how after every wave a new one begins, it’s our job to learn how to grow stronger and more resilient in the face of the unknown. To embrace the possibility around us and be grateful for each day as it comes. Nature is one big cycle, so any uncertainty you’re going through will pass.

I’m sending you love and light, wherever you may be. I know you will get through it. 💖

Your friend in this journey together,

P.S. I recently opened up my schedule for a few new coaching clients. If you’ve been looking to get clear about your path ahead or manage uncertainty during stressful times, book a call with me so we can see what’s possible?