“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.” E.E. Cummings
How are you at embracing the mystery and opportunity of an unknown future?
Can you live with “I don’t know” and find excitement in an uncertain future?
Or, do you have to know the whys and hows before going forward?
Dennis Merritt Jones, in The Art of Uncertainty: How To Live in the Mystery of Life and Love It (Amazon Kindle link), notes that like it or not, life is a mystery, and while we often have an attachment to knowing — and controlling — how the story ends, we suffer greatly because of it.
Whether it’s our relationships or careers, many of us want to control the outcome. And because of this, we tend to live “smaller, condensed, fearful little lives.”
Our ride through life is often a projection of the same daily images, which keeps us prisoners of the known.
Jones reminds us that we cannot create anything new — a new life, a new relationship, a new career — by using only our past as a reference point for our future, We’ll just create another version of the same thing.
If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that much of what’s worked in the past won’t work going forward. No one knows what the future holds, nor should we. That would only dull the edge of our evolution and diminish the desire to stay engaged in pursuing meaning and purpose, which is what makes life worth living.
Nature Demands Change
There’s a universal imperative that all living things must grow. If they don’t grow, they die. This includes us. When we stop growing, we begin to die — physically, emotionally, spiritually. This includes our careers.
Jones quotes John Maxwell: “If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.”
Many people resist growth because it brings change, and change forces them into the mystery of the unknown.
Those who insist on knowing the whys and hows of everything are not generally happy, healthy, and peaceful folks. Their need to know is driven by fear and insecurity, not inspiration. They may feel secure in the illusion of knowing what the future holds; however, it keeps them stuck in the “zone of the known and they succumb to its voice of seeming logic and reason. That voice presents a compelling case for not ever taking the risk of leaving the nest of the known, and for avoiding change at all costs.”
When we make the fear-based choice to settle for our current conditions, an intangible but vital part of us begins to wither and die because its divine purpose is not being honored. That part of us is our soul.
Curiosity and Inquisitiveness
The key to our continued learning and personal evolution, Jones notes, lies in the unknown, and curiosity and inquisitiveness unlock that door. Curiosity is the innate desire to learn about anything. It invites us to venture beyond the boundaries of what we already know.
Inquisitiveness is the process of using our thinking mind, inquiring or asking questions that allow us to clarify, process, and absorb new information.
Whether we come to the edge of uncertainty through inspiration or desperation, the principle remains the same. There dwells within us an “Infinite Intelligence” that supports, guides, and sustains us. It is not something we learn; it IS something we need to listen to.
Working as intuition, Infinite Intelligence accompanies us into the mystery. We need to be willing to be who and what we were born to be. The promise is that we’ll be free to open new doors of self-discovery and claim the resources to create a life worth living if we’re courageous enough to follow Its lead.
What Do You Think?
Do you buy the argument that there’s a self-guidance system that, if we pay attention, will take us to new frontiers in our lives, in our careers?
Do you buy the argument that there’s a self-guidance system that, if we pay attention, will take us to new frontiers in our lives, in our careers?
Or do you need more certainty as you move forward in your life and your career?
Do you need to be in control of who you are or are you comfortable letting it unfold?
Let me know, I’d love you hear from you. I can be reached by email at scott@scottwoodardcoaching.com.
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