How to Handle Uncertainty in Life

Life is uncertain, that is the one thing we can count on. We may not like it but it’s a reality, even if we are killing ourselves trying to control everything possible. I was a self-proclaimed control freak and am now a recovering control freak. I personally understand the feelings that the word “uncertainty” triggers. This is why I’m going to give you some tools to learn how to handle uncertainty in life.

For years I fed into the mindset that I needed to plan everything, and think about every possible risk or outcome that might happen. After all, that was part of my job when I was designing processes and managing projects as an Industrial Engineer. Did I take these actions too far into my personal life, or had I started conditioning myself to be this way in my childhood?

I’m still working on this deep mindset journey but I do know one mind-blowing fact…

It’s possible to transform your mindset so that you can expand your thoughts and manage how you feel about the uncertainty in life. Before I give you some tips for learning how to handle uncertainty in life, the first step is to understand the Truth behind uncertainty, and then try to see how many areas we are nurturing our intolerance to uncertainty.

{this article has been updated from the original publishing to reflect expanded learnings over time}

Shining Light upon Uncertainty

Uncertainty in definition is a form of unknown. It is not being sure of what is or what is possible. There is nothing wrong within this perspective, however our natural tendencies of how we react to the unknown may reflect a fear based intention to uncertainty within our life. The fear of uncertainty should not freeze your intentions for healing and walking towards abundance. When we face this fear, we are shown the Light of what is possible for our life. It isn’t taking control of every aspect of what’s possible, it is allowing yourself to know there is uncertainty but it is within the beauty of what the Lord can bring within the balance and honest scales of nurturing abundance within your life, that you may not see as it could be.

Proverbs 16:11 Honest scales and balances are from the Lord; all the weights in the bag are of His making.

The Unconditional Trust that is built when you trust in the Lord in this way, shows a nurturing love from you to Him as you lean not upon your own understanding but the knowledge coming from His Love and Light within you. This is the Guidance and the Power of Unconditional Love and Unconditional Light. It makes the paths straight and when you allow yourself not to control the uncertainty of what the Lord can bring you, you are abiding by the Loving message to know God is Love and desires prosperity for all.

Not allowing this or trying to control aspects of your life for certainty in what could be, will invite a message from the Lord where you see the fear of uncertainty.

The fear of uncertainty is a warning by the Lord, showing you the need to control is limiting your life. The Lord knows what’s possible and has a higher perspective as to what may become based upon what others are choosing also. When we choose to try to control this, we do not fear the Lord. Avoiding the actions or feelings surrounding a limitation, creates imbalance within our life. When we choose to respect the Lord’s higher perspective and lift our hands in moments we feel we need to control, we are choosing to respect our inner fear of the Lord; our inner fear of taking over His domain.

However, when we create a pattern that nourishes trust in the Lord, the energy within our life begins to heal and the structures we have within our life are nourished by the Lord. You may not know exactly how this nourishment is done or what it can become, but that is the beauty of the uncertainty in life. When exploring what this would feel like, as a blessing, I think of the beauty of being human and see the life that the Lord helps nurture as an abstract painting filled with beauty and color. I may not know every blessing that may become, but I will commit to trusting what is possible for the Lord to nurture for me.

Thanking the Lord for these blessings within our life, help the Lord know we have acknowledged the abundance in the Way He desired us to know it, because He will see how the scales are balanced between what we acknowledge versus what He knows to be True. How He uses this information from us is the beauty of how He nourishes abundance, not just for one but for many.

Proverbs 3:5-10 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment in your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

The uncertainty in how life is nourished in abundant ways doesn’t need to be controlled by us, we can just be in flow with the beauty of what is. When we are, we don’t feed anxiety or worry; we just build the Unconditional Trust within our lives.

I know the Lord’s Love and feel the support always, however I had a belief that I didn’t need to fear the Lord because He is Love and I respect the way He is nourishing abundance within my life.

My job is to do the Divine Actions; knowing when to act upon a potential opportunity that He provides and when to rest within His Love. Each action for my life, including the heart-centered inspired nudges to consider, help nourish a trust in what is possible without knowing every aspect of what may become.

How To Know You Have Uncertainty Issues

There are many ways people like us show intolerance to uncertainty and the kicker is, as we move along our journey in life, the intolerance to uncertainty grows and expands into multiple areas of our life. It’s like a bad weed, once you nurture one it grows into another area of your life. When we are fearing uncertainty or showing an intolerance to uncertainty, we are essentially taking control of the Lord’s domain and trying to control an outcome. For me the imbalance of what is felt, isn’t worth feeding anxiety or worry within my life; isn’t worth the disharmony of what becomes as the fear of uncertainty erodes aspects of who I am.

Here are a few possible reactions you might have when you are showing signs of intolerance to uncertainty:

Do you worry about health, finances, or family?
Are you constantly moving and have difficulty relaxing?
Is the schedule your friend, even in your downtime? In other words, do you find yourself over planning everything?
If things don’t go as planned (yes, even leaving the house on time), do you get overly upset?
How much do you like to change? Are you becoming more and more inflexible to a change in plan as you get older?
Does it feel like your world is collapsing when something goes wrong?
Do you find yourself checking things multiple times “just to make sure” (locked doors, keys in the pocket, stove turned off, lights off…)?
Do you constantly need to call a friend or a mentor to “bounce ideas” before making a decision?
When you are in a social setting and your opinion is asked, do you have trouble expressing them unless you are 100% certain? Maybe you need to ask that friend first before you share those opinions…
How controlling are you about things around the home? Does everything need to go as planned, be done a certain way or done on schedule for life to feel in control?

If you are thinking how did I let this grow so much within my life, then I know what you must be thinking because this is what I thought when I dug into this very topic. Here are just a few of my personal excuses that delayed my own personal growth, because that is exactly what they were and I’ll explain why in a bit.

It’s natural for me to feel this way, after all, I’m a mother.

Shouldn’t all parents worry about their family?

If I plan out the vacations then the kids won’t be as bored.

My life is on my phone; mainly because we have a scheduling app (our digital lifesaver) that has all of our life events on it (this is a huge one for me and one I still say often…).

I’m an [insert career title], it’s my job to plan for the unexpected.

I have this idea that I want to try, let me call [my boss, my husband, a close friend, any considered expert] just in case they think the idea is stupid.

I’m an introvert so making conversation with people isn’t natural.

Why can’t the family get that we have a schedule to keep? Is it so hard to be ready to leave when we need to leave?

I’m a queen of multitasking and proud of it.

Who has time to sit at night?

If I don’t do it, it either won’t get done or it won’t get done right.

*BOOM*

Do any of these relate to you? Even if just a couple of these examples have resonated with you it will be enough to constantly feed a cycle of worry, fear, and anxiety. These habits will affect your health, both your mental and physical health. Oh and don’t get me started on how it will affect your career and relationships. Can you say needy, lack of confidence, controlling, difficult, obsessive…hello life goal barriers!

This is where you can start to shift your mindset and change how you react to situations.

Shifting the Mindset to Handle Uncertainty

I have a saying that I believe whole heartedly: You are Enough and Your Mindset Matters. Both are true every day. When we dig into why we are feeling a certain way, often it relates to not being enough. The truth though is that we are enough just as we are so why do we feel the need to control every outcome? The Truth is not knowing how much we are Loved by the Lord; not being able to receive Love in Unconditional ways.

When you identified the issues and your natural reactions towards them those were huge steps towards learning how to handle uncertainty in life. Ultimately, when you are mindful of your own feelings and reactions, you are ready to shift the mindset and grow.

Now let’s expand the mindset, instead of limiting it.

The excuses I listed earlier were extremely limiting and ones that kept me stuck in a very unhealthy cycle for many years. In the end, I was unhealthy both physically and mentally. I was ignoring the obvious and masking it with actions that made me feel safe from the uncertainty of life.

Today I challenge myself to become mindful when I notice my natural tendency to react a certain way and then expand my mindset to think of new ways to accept some uncertainty.

I’m training my brain to be okay with uncertainty, bit by bit. You can too.

This step is scary and it brings up lots of uncomfortable emotions but I made the choice to accept those emotions in the short term so that I could help myself create a life I love. This is not a one-time action, it is a daily practice so that I can break those bad habits I was following mindlessly and create new healthy habits.

Let’s Recap

Knowing that the foundation of uncertainty is a curiosity of how abundance may become. How does this feel when you explore this for your life?

Is there a fear? What burdens are driving the need to move away or avoid this fear? What events are difficult to face and are they the very root of what you are being asked to forgive for abundance.

There are a few initial steps to learning how to handle uncertainty in life. I know that some of these won’t be easy to face, but those are the ones that will be most freeing and worthwhile. After all, Unconditional Love is a Love of an ordering nature. It helps us choose to shed the heaviest burdens first, from largest to smallest. Just know that no matter how difficult it is to face, there is Unconditional Love within you to lean upon.

If you can’t feel or find the Unconditional Love within you, ask to know it. Ask and you shall receive was and is a promise from the Lord.

Here are 5 steps to get you started (remember that judging yourself doesn’t help you, so don’t judge just learn from yourself):

Become mindful of the situations that make you feel uncertain.
Accept that you have an intolerance to uncertainty (the amount of intolerance is personal for your journey).
Take note of your reactions to uncertainty, and notice how it relates to the worry and anxiety within your life.
Notice your excuses for “being this way”, and the actions you choose to control the outcomes.
Expand your mindset to accept a higher level of uncertainty, knowing that you will feel extremely uncomfortable in the short term as you move through the fear of being uncertain; of letting the need to control go. Do this via Guidance and allow yourself to explore how the Law of Forgiveness may help you begin to heal even more.

Life is filled with uncertainty and this can either be scary or you can shift your mindset to think of it as an adventure. The mind is powerful and you can choose how you desire to respond within expanded thoughts and emotions.

Years ago, a few weeks prior to my wedding, I was in a car accident. The way the vehicle flipped changed my viewpoint when it came to amusement park rides. I noticed this when I would go into fear, when I didn’t before. When we went to amusement parks, the kids would choose the rides they wanted to go on. I was the ride lover before so it became a natural mom and child event. I would be frozen in fear and look over to my kids and see the fear on their faces. When fear tried to overthrow our abundance, it was Unconditional Love that calmed the storm and showed me how to let go enough to enjoy the abundance that was asked for.

I chose to face the fear, for my kids and myself, and changed my reaction to joy. After all, I couldn’t let my accident prior to having children be the excuse that ruined their fun. I would yell “woohoo” and smile and take in the experience fully. I noticed that the kids relaxed and were screaming joyously with me. Essentially we expanded our mindset to shift from fear of uncertainty to enjoying the adventure.

Are you going to choose the adventure of life?