Uncertainty can drain you. It can cause you to doubt yourself, your decisions, your team and your environment. And it can come from so many different angles. Uncertainty can spring from within, manifesting itself in the forms of self-doubt, low self-esteem and inaction.

It may also come from the world around us. It seems to be the common state of affairs in the world around us. Currently, we seem to have fixed our collective attention on a struggling economy, rising inflation, the war in Ukraine – and its possible nuclear ramifications – just to name a few.

When my marriage was coming to an end, I cuddled up to uncertainty and bedded down with it. I couldn’t make a decision. Looking back on it now, I believe that I knew the truth in my heart. It was over. It couldn’t continue the way it was, and I was powerless to change it. But, as long as I “wasn’t sure,” I didn’t have to deal with those realities, or so I thought.

So, I was in a perpetual state of stuck. A marriage in a stalemate. Zero personal growth. My faith walk had become a crawl at best. Further, I was neglecting my friendships. I had become a slave to my uncertainty, and my inability to make a decision was impacting every aspect of my life.

How do you move from uncertainty to clarity

Whether you are seeking to make clear decisions around a toxic relationship, capitalizing on a business opportunity, family struggles, or something else, there are some steps you can take to find clarity. While this is far from an exhaustive list, these are all items that have worked well for me in difficult times to gain clarity, center myself and find my direction.

“It is not how we live in the light that enlightens us, it is how we live in the dark.”

Rune Lazuli

I love this quote from the popular Instagram poet. She is able to write so much wisdom in just a few words. I find two meanings here:

Growth happens in the darkest times

We are all a product of our experiences and our interpretations of them. The darkest, most painful moments of my life have shaped me into the person I am today much more than the happy times. When we are living in the darkness, we should be searching for the light.

Growth happens outside of your comfort zone. Your muscles don’t grow just because you went to the gym. No, you have to push them. You have to hurt them. Work them until they can’t do any more. Get uncomfortable. Then the most magical thing happens. Those muscles you just torched come back stronger.

It’s no different with other types of growth. If you want to grow your business, your relationships, your mental toughness, you need the same philosophy. Push out of your comfort zone, live at your edge, and light up the darkness.

Solitude is a tool for enlightenment

When I think of living in the dark, I think of solitude. Darkness is typically a lonely place. It can be a place of despair or a place of study, growth, and reflection. Items that have worked wonders for me to find clarity and peace during uncertain times include journaling, prayer, meditation, working out, and going for a walk.

While each of these are powerful tools on their own, I find them to be even better when coupling them. For instance, I find that I get more out of journaling when I couple my prayer life with journaling, combining the writing down of my prayers with more traditional journaling. Stacking these methods is a great way to find more value in them.

I especially find it useful to stack methods that involve both the mind and the body. Going for a prayer walk or listening to meditative music while I’m walking helps me to focus on prayer or meditation, as I tend to struggle focusing during these times. I also find it useful to have my notes open on my phone as I’m working out in the gym, because it seems like some of my best ideas come when I’m focused on lifting heavy weights.

Something about disengaging my mind and working my body seems to re-engage my mind. There’s a dichotomy for you…

You may be saying ” So, Jon. How do I achieve this growth and enlightenment?” I’m glad you asked! What follows are a few techniques that I have found to help me deal with uncertain situations in my life.

Educate yourself

Regardless of your struggle, I guarantee you that you won’t have to look far to educate yourself on your options if you will just seek it out. The information age has given us the ability to learn anything we want at our convenience. There are YouTube videos, Ted Talks, books, podcasts, Reddit and Quora threads, the list goes on and on. And all of these are ever-growing, adding to the collective knowledge of humanity.

While it is truly astounding that all of this knowledge exists just a few clicks away from us, none of it helps us if we don’t put it into practice. As important as it is to educate yourself, the trap here is that you can land in analysis paralysis, always seeking more information when you really just need to make a decision based upon what you know.

So, educate yourself enough that you can make an informed decision. Then make it and move on. You can reevaluate your choice down the road and make a different one if it isn’t working for you.

Keep your body healthy

This item won’t help you in the moment of uncertainty. While going to the gym once won’t make you more decisive or resilient or give you the stamina you need to deal with a tough situation, building healthy habits to develop your physical and mental toughness over time will.

Ensuring both your body and mind are able to perform effectively will assist you in finding clarity when uncertainty comes knocking. This isn’t just about working out, running or yoga – all of which are great, by the way. This also includes eating a healthy diet, practicing good sleep hygiene, and allowing yourself time to decompress from the stressors of life.

I have also found it particularly useful to incorporate a digital detox every now and then. Every so often, I take a weekend and make a verbal contract with myself that I will only check my phone at set times and will only look for voice mails and texts. No emails, news, FaceBook, Instagram, etc. Just me living in the real world, present in the moment. I bring a more thoughtful version of myself back on Monday after these weekends. Which reminds me, it is about time for me to do another detox…

Uncertainty may require trusted advisors

If you are struggling to find clarity after spending some time in solitude thinking about it, it may be time to phone a friend. Here’s the deal, though. Not just any friend will do. The world is full of advisors. Most of them are bad. Make sure the people you listen to have experience in the thing you’re struggling with and have your best interests at heart.

For example, you probably don’t want to take business advice from your brother in law that has never owned a business. Nor do you want to seek out marriage advice from your Uncle with three divorces. Instead, find someone who is at the destination you want to arrive at and ask them to help you find the road map to get there.

One caveat here is that you may still find value in the lessons learned by people who failed where you are trying to succeed. It’s always better to learn from the mistakes of others rather than your own. If your thrice-divorced Uncle has learnings to share around what didn’t work for him, mistakes he’s made and how he grew from them, his insight may be valuable.

Regardless of where your advice comes from, it’s important for you to remember that you are in charge of your decisions. Give careful consideration to any advice you receive, but know that you are responsible for making the decisions in your life, which brings us to the next technique…

Trust your gut

I struggle so much with this. When I have a gut feeling about something, I brush it off. I want to be sure. I want certainty. But this post is about uncertainty. A gut feeling is never going to give you certainty. That still, small voice you hear in your head is most likely pointing you toward the thing you know you should be doing.

Still stuck in uncertainty?

Still can’t find a clear path forward? If you’ve tried all of these techniques and are still stuck, you are most likely using uncertainty as an excuse for indecision. It’s time to move forward and pick a path. The wrong decision is still better than no decision at all.

The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.

Prussian General Carl von Clausewitz, 1832

Wrapping it all up

I hope you have found these tips to be useful in your efforts to find clarity in these uncertain times. I’d love to hear your thoughts on what has worked for you. Drop me an email here and let’s start a discussion.