Uncertainty Isn’t The Opposite Of Certainty
We often hear people describe our Digital Age as one of uncertainty. They long for their image of a past when workplaces were more “certain” or a future where they believe things will settle again into a period of stability and certainty.
We need to address this myth about certainty and uncertainty.
First, there is no time, past, present or future where we can look out on the world and be totally certain of what we see.
There was a time when we were certain the world was flat. There was a time when we didn’t believe man could ever walk on the moon. There was a time when we didn’t believe one person’s heart could ever beat in another.
From this we can learn only one thing.
The opposite of certainty is not uncertainty.
The opposite of certainty is learning. It is adapting. It is opening ourselves up to other possibilities.
Sometimes in business we become fearful of the future, so we think all will be right if we just retreat back to the point where we were certain. But if we do that, we get to that point and discover that we did not interpret correctly everything we saw there. It was not certain at all.
We have to be careful if we are holding certainty as a life or business goal, because it is illusive and it will let us down. If you are certain about Point A at this point in the present, and you decide to set your plan for the future to reach Point B, and you are certain you will get there if you follow the path you set, you will be seriously upset when you get closer to Point B and discover it is a mirage, or it has moved, or it is no longer attractive.
That is not to suggest that we cannot plan or set goals, but rather than when what we are doing now is supposed to stretch into the future, we need to understand that there is no certainty. That is because the steps we can imagine now and the sequence in which we see them may not apply in the future.
We are only able to plan to the extent of what we know.
That is why we need to keep learning. We need to keep adapting to the environment in which we live at the present. We will prosper if we keep up with the series of changes that will signal the approach of the future.
There is no possible way we can say with certainty as we engage in our work and life plans that step one will lead to step two and step two to step three. All we can say with certainty is that there is a step one.
After that, we will chart our course based on what we learn and how we adapt to the inevitable change of tomorrow.
Paula Morand is a leadership building, revenue boosting, strategy expanding keynote speaker, author and visionary. This dreaming big and being bold leadership expert and brand strategist brings her vibrant energy, humor and wisdom to ignite individuals, organizations and communities to lead change, growth and impact in a more bold fashion. 24 years, 27,000 clients, 34 countries, 15 books, former radio personality, 11x award winning entrepreneur and humorous emcee.Check out Paula’s best selling books: “Bold Courage: How Owning Your Awesome Changes Everything”, “Dreaming BIG and Being BOLD: Inspiring stories from Trailblazers, Visionaries and Change Makers” book series; and due to be released soon “Bold Vision: A Leader’s Playbook for Managing Growth” go to Amazon http://ow.ly/i8yW307ix67
Speaking inquiries email bookings@paulamorand.com or call toll-free 1-888-502-6317.