How do you get out of the fog, uncertainty, and confusion of the changing seasons of life?
This may not be a topic that you’ve ever considered, and, frankly, it was a new idea to me, too. In his book “What to Make of a Life”, Jim Collins talks about cliffs and fog. Cliff events represent those major moments of impact that change our trajectory dramatically. Fog, which often follows cliff events, is uncertainty and even confusion around what happens next. While cliffs can be dramatic things like an illness, losing a job, or a major success, they’re usually straightforward. Fog, less so.
So, how do you get out of the fog? Of course, you should see what Collins has to say about this in the book, but here are some of my thoughts.
The first of two important guides for my life has always been the Stoic concept of focusing on what’s within your control. Uncertainty causes just that…a lack of clarity or certainty about what may happen next. In those moments, determining your whole future is not important, but identifying what’s within your control that you can act on is critical to forward motion. As you consider your uncertainty, make it your priority to identify the things within your control and determine which of those seem best to act on first.
The second idea is to clarify your desired outcome. While I usually prefer to start with Vision or Desired Outcomes in planning, when we find ourselves in the fog of an unclear path forward, this comes second. Once we have a sense of what’s within our control and how we might take the first step forward, we can begin to refine the feedback data and clarify our desired outcomes. I suggest two sets of desired outcomes: the short-term goal of taking these first next steps and, gradually, the medium- or longer-term goal of where we think, broadly, we want to go.
Do either of these tips guarantee clarity and a life with no uncertainty? Of course not! But when we meet those moments of confusion, especially after a difficult gut punch, they help us get on our feet and start moving again quickly.
Normally, outcome then action, but in the fog of uncertainty, flip it: what’s in my control, and then, what do I want to be true?
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