What happens when we face uncertainty? How do we feel?
It depends on the situation and the person. I know many who feel a pronounced anxiety when the path, or the outcome, is unclear. I can definitely relate. There have been many situations where I’ve felt this way, and there’s one thing that all them have in common: the feeling that I have no control over my own destiny.
But the flip side is when I feel like I can do something to help myself. In those situations, panic is rare. Even if I can’t control everything about a situation, the mere sense that I can do something is enough to stay out of panic mode. Sometimes it’s enough to avoid worrying at all.
In the past few years, I’ve been downright blessed to have had tremendous opportunities — most of which presented as gaping voids. A small handful of times, I’ve turned my back on the void only to see someone else step in and take advantage of it. Other times, fortunately, I’ve stepped into it myself and amazing things have happened. The results have ranged from incredible learning experiences to accomplishing things nobody expected.
I still haven’t distilled just what it is that separates the opportunistic void from the dangerous void. I’m kind of feeling my way. I still get it wrong every once in a while, but even that could be a matter of approach or timing, couldn’t it? Isn’t it possible that every void presents some form of opportunity — even if it’s not the kind of opportunity you’d want to take credit for?
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