You Don't Know

I’m sending this early as I’m out of the office today.?And by out of office I mean, intending to take the earned days of personal time off, not focused on work.?No “fake” PTO.?No “PTO LITE.”?What does that even mean??It is too bad that we hear those terms fly around our office setting more frequently these days.?But I digress.???

Pssst, can I share a secret with you??I don’t know.?And as much as I don’t know, you don’t know either.

You don’t know what the future holds.?Oh, you think you know.?We all think we know.??You’re planning for it, much like I am.?The planning.?The presumption of a tomorrow.?All of that is 100% understood.?

You don’t know the feelings or personal struggles of that seemingly oblivious soul that just cut you off in the grocery line.?You don’t know what he or she may be dealing with in their life that has distracted them from any notion of courteous practice.?Sure, you can extend grace or apply judgment, but again, that’s your response, not their walk.?????

You don’t know how many more days you have on Earth—enough said.??

And through all of this uncertainty or the lack of knowledge about whatever you may dealing with in your life, you have a choice.?You can either fight not knowing…seek more details…strive for more certainty that is likely a futile effort.??Or you can embrace the uncertainty and let it free you to live your best life, today.???????

None of this should surprise any of us.?It can be a good reminder, but if it surprises you or catches you off guard, you may really need to step back and think on this one a few minutes.??No really, strike that “Thinker” pose made famous by Rodin (you know the bronze sculpture in Paris).?

Pull up a rock, stone, stump or even your favorite chair.?Slightly hunch over, pulling your torso forward and centered slightly over your feet.?Rest your right elbow on your right leg.?Pull the back of your right hand up to your chin and rest your head, chin-first, propped with purpose on the back of that hand.?Now think.???

“What am I thinking about?” you ask.???

The answer…. “nothing.”???That’s right.?Nothing.?When it comes to the future, when it comes to someone else’s experience and struggle, when it comes to our total numbered days, we know nothing.??We can plan and relate and take our best guess, but we don’t know.?My challenge then is to allow this level of UNCERTAINTY to serve as a reminder and most importantly, be okay with it.?

“The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty you can comfortably deal with.” ~Tony Robbins

Not just a Tony Robbins quote, there have been numerous studies by cognitive psychologists that would tell you the better you are at realizing uncertainty is okay, the more you free yourself to take each day’s events in stride and increase your quality of life.??

None of this is intended as a wake-up call or is meant to scare any of us.??We simply do not know certain things and that is okay.?It’s okay to stop fighting the uncertainty.?It is okay to embrace I DON’T KNOW.?What you may find is that you’re actually better off embracing the uncertainty and with purpose, going with the flow—not as a leaf on a stream being whisked away by the current, but more as a master kayaker who has learned when to allow the river to guide her path.???????

If you struggle with this at any level, I invite you to check out the full article “Five Reasons” by Jeff Munn on www.tinybuddha.com.?It’s likely that at least one of us will get something more to take into the next hour.?An hour in which you have NO IDEA what will happen.?You’re welcome.??

If you don’t have time to dive deeper, here are a few concepts to think on.?Assume the Thinker pose again!?

1)?????Not knowing takes the pressure off.

2)?????Not knowing saves time.

3)?????Not knowing fosters learning.

4)?????Not knowing brings the joy of surprise.?

5)?????We have NO CHOICE.?

As I reflect on all of my life’s greatest—good or bad moments—the learning and joy of surprise and the concepts above resonate with thunder in my own life.??If I had known those moments were coming, I probably would have screwed them up in some way, never felt the elation of true surprise, or learned for the next whatever, up around the corner.??

Enjoy your weekend.?You have earned it.?

Joe

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