Let's be honest: we're all a little exhausted. And with vaccinations rising, better weather coming, and the promise of more freedom on the horizon, it can be easy to look ahead without acknowledging the personal impact that the last year has had.
But wellbeing doesn't just happen. Tackling the fear of uncertainty is a difficult task that has most of us scrambling.
If the prospect of more change leaves your gut-churning, makes your hands suddenly sweaty, and floods your brain with feelings of fear, you're in good company. Studies have found that your brain is uniquely vulnerable to uncertainty. Some researchers argue fear of the unknown is what gives rise to all the other fears you experience.
"Instead of understanding that navigating change is most often like walking into a dark room with the lights turned out, requiring you to take small steps and to move slowly so you can adjust, and adjust, and adjust based on continual feedback, leaders often expect to be able to take clear, giant leaps forward quickly," explained Dr. Peter Senge when we interviewed him recently.
Navigating complex changes requires the development of a learning mindset. It needs the humility to recognise we are nearly always part of the problem and a commitment to a never-ending process of small steps that we can continually improve upon. When we feel safe to learn, we're more willing to take the risks required to bring about impactful change, knowing that a key benefit from 'failure' will be continued learning.
Peter recommended trying the following:
- Balancing your growth – Can you take inspiration from nature and find more balance between change and conservation? Can you identify elements in your world that warrant conservation of what already exists?
- Building a learning mindset – How can you make change meaningful for you and others? How are you staying humble as you navigate your way through complexity with small steps and the permission to adjust, adjust and adjust as you move forward?
- Embrace the 'resistors' – If you're bumping up against resistance to the changes you want to make, consider what might be necessary to them that is not being taken into account with these changes. How you can honour the hopes and motivation of these people is by continuing to talk about it and unfolding and looking for ways to co-create meaningful changes together.