How to deal with uncertainty and change.

When I first heard that human beings are hard wired to be 'Happy, Productive, and Successful', my mind struggled; or should I say that the thinking part of my brain struggled. 'Hard Wired', really?

This bold claim was brought to my attention by my transformational coach Greg Menendez . Of course if we were to go back to our happy childhood memories when we were babies, assuming we were lucky to be born in an environment of peace and tranquility, that would be true that we were deliriously happy. How about 'Productive' and 'Successful' though?

Well, we learnt to walk didn't we. We had support from others, and a tenacious resilience, which was innate. With a little help, we succeeded. I tell this story because although you have heard it before but it needs a reminder. You were not given a plan to learn to walk, stepped through a roadmap, nor were we given milestones and timelines. You just took the first step towards that end goal, and it happened eventually.

Therein lies the secret. Take the first step. Not the literal step in the walking example, but the 1st action towards that, or, for for that matter, any goal. Observe what unfolds and work with it. Rinse and repeat.

Surely it can't be that simple, could it?

Human beings were born agile. Nothing about our intelligence is artificial. Our natural state is one of 'Being in Flow', which the eminent psychologist Mihaly Robert Csikszentmihalyi describes as 'a highly focused mental state conducive to productivity'. The irony is that you can't focus or think yourself into that state, but it is your natural state. The answer therefore is not to think, just be. Some of you Star Wars fans might be smiling by now.

To understand the flow state, we need to understand what makes us get out of the flow state. The simple answer is when we 'Over think' things, believing that it is more work or hard yakka, that will help us work the problem out and somehow defeat the problem/change by wrestling it to the ground.

Sadly no one can give you an answer to your 'over-think' questions and views. Leadership coaches often suggest that one could approach it by scenario analysis. Some say that you ought to look at the worst case scenario. Well that step in itself is to take worry off your mind, only if you arrive at an acceptance of the worst case scenario. In other words when you come to terms with the answer to 'Well, how bad can it be?', and its twin, 'Can I live with it?' The end game here is to make peace with the worst case scenario. Only then you can begin to become eligible to be in your natural state of flow.

My answer is to go for a walk and just be an observer of the thoughts. Let them come and go. This is why some great aha moments have come when humans have been doing 'something else', like having a shower, or having a bath, or going for a run. It is not the activities per se that provide you with insights. It's the act of 'not thinking' which is part of the recipe.

So the title of this article is 'How to deal with uncertainty and change?' The logical answer is to remove the cause of the change, right? Sadly, that would be living in a world, wearing rose tinted glasses and mistakenly believing you have control over external things or events. The Stoics would argue that there is not much in our control. In Epictetus' view, 'Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions'. However, unless we have really spent time on these virtues of self control, in the mental gym of reflection, many could go through life as a pin ball; but, I digress.

The first step, is to acknowledge what is in your control. Other than your response, not much.

The second step is, 'Do not overthink'.

'Wait a minute. Are you saying there is an optimal amount of thinking that is okay?, I hear you ask.

Unconfirmed sources claim that Mark Twain, famously said, 'I have a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened'.

My personal favourite is 'Worry baits us with the promise of a solution, but usually offers none'

Third step, 'Get into a grounded state of flow' or as close to it. Only then take the next step below.

Fourth step, 'Take the first action and observe what unfolds'.

Final step, 'Go to step one'.

Let's do a quick modern day example of the sad issue of 'Road Rage'. Example: someone has just cut you off, on the road.

Q: Was what occurred (being cut off by someone else) in your control?

A: No.

Q: Were you grounded before you responded?

A: No

You responded with 'Road Rage' of some degree of it. Hopefully, not seriously.

Now let's imagine the same scenario but with a different lens of being grounded.

Q: Was what occurred (being cut off by someone else) in your control?

A: No.

Q: Were you grounded before you responded?

A: I need a moment to be in control of my emotions. I breathe. I come to the present. I feel I have been pushed off balance but I find my balance quickly. I let the situation go.

Final result = No Road Rage.

Dealing with change, however, is a huge topic. This is the reason why I joined a specialist Change Management consultancy, Kambium Consulting , which deals with the people side of technology change. The psychology remains the same but the execution is more complex.

Imagine there is a big rollout ( ServiceNow , Salesforce , Microsoft Dynamics 365 etc.) rollout or a 微软 Teams deployment, and you are one of many employees affected by the change. The executives want this change to be adopted quickly so that the real benefit of this technology can be realised as soon as possible. You and others go through a bunch of questions:

Q: Is this in my control?

A: No, but I need to think about what this means to me.

Kambium Consulting : Let us take the overthinking out of the equation. Let us communicate the why. Let us help you to feel 'psychologically safe'

Q: But I don't know how to work the new system. What if my imposter syndrome becomes known by others? What if I lose by job by AI? What if someone is better than me? What if....

A: Yes I am overthinking

Kambium Consulting : All valid concerns. Let us work with you to get you into a grounded state. In that grounded state you will be in flow. You will make the most of your past and future skills to realise more benefits for yourself and the company. We will train you with relevant material. Remember, you are hard wired to be Happy, Productive, and Successful.

I love helping people find the music in the mundane.

This isn't about seeing the positive in everything, it is perhaps living a life where although you can't be grateful for everything, but you can be grateful in every moment.

So in summary the steps to deal with change and uncertainty:

Step #1: 'Is this in my control'?

Step #2: 'Do not over-think'

Step #3: 'Be grounded'

Step #4: 'Take the first action and observe what unfolds'

Step #5: 'Go to Step #1'

Wishing you a Happy, Productive, and Successful life because that is your hard wired destiny.