Julie Benezet, author of The Journey of Not Knowing, offers up real-life lessons learned for overcoming the uncertainties and hardships life brings.
1. Accept it! Bad things happen. Uncertainty is a normal part of life.
Change happens. You didn’t imagine it. The internet changed all the rules. Businesses face changing markets. We live in a fast, hyperconnected world where constant change is the norm. What sold readily a few years ago, no longer is marketable. People, circumstances, and places shift and changes we don’t know can and do have a direct impact on our lives. So much is unknown, everywhere--new politics, new economic models, new technology, new cultural norms, and new sources of competition. With so many unknowns, life feels out of our control and uncomfortable.
2. Get used to the idea and the discomfort of not knowing.
With so much change, you will never know everything you think you need to know. The better strategy is to accept that challenge and face it. It is definitely uncomfortable but you need to stop denying and fighting it. Rather than running away from it, confront the scariness of change and search for and find ideas that you can use to help you deal with the things that are most important to you.
3. Focus on what you can do to make positive changes happen.
No matter what happened to you, or to others near you, there is something you can do to make things better. Acquire a new skill, get some new training, create a new plan of action, train and educate others to improve their skills and their strategies for coping and surviving.
Whatever you choose to pursue to make changes that improve your career or your business, identify your primary stakeholders. Figure out what they want and need. Use what you learn to hone and refine your ideas for implementing the changes in your life with their buy-in.
4. Be patient. Allow for tough and uncomfortable conversations.
Pursuing new ideas will cause discomfort. Others may resist it. Unearthing facts and feelings needed to improve your ideas and plans can involve many difficult conversations. Questions that might arise are: “Why would we do that when …” Or “how do we get support for this? Or “If we do that, where are we going to get the money? Or “How are we going to survive this?”
Reactions will be emotional. Opinions will vary, fear, doubt, and cynicism may abound. The process will uncomfortable and painful.
The important thing is to ask the tough questions, hear what others have to say, and make decisions based on the best information you (and others) can glean.
5. Decide. Identify what matters to you the most and go forward.
The best decisions are made with a clear and calm mind. It does not mean you know all there is to know, but investing the time needed to create a picture that feels reasonable will pay off.
Learn enough to feel the risk of not going forward with a plan is less than the risk of staying in place and not going anywhere at all!
Journey of Not Knowing
How 21st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course When There is None
The Journal of Not Knowing: Charting Your Own Course
Julie Benezet
Julie Benezet is the author of The Journey of Not Knowing: How 21st Century Leaders Can Chart a Course Where There Is None and the companion workbookThe Journal of Not Knowing.
Julie Benezet has devoted her working life to exploring the new, building businesses and helping others do the same. She developed Amazon’s first global real estate organization, worked many years as a finance lawyer, and led the growth of several successful businesses.
Now, with years of world-class business and management experience, Julie Benezet is on a mission to help people deal with the stress and anxiety brought on by the chaotic world. She focuses on living and leading in the 21st Century and decoding human behavior in the face of change.
For more information about Julie please visit: https://juliebenezet.com/
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