I was talking to a client this week, and they were unsure about moving forward. I get it. Most people like direction and order. Most people don’t like surprises and most people resist change but change is coming. There is nothing we can do about it. For that reason, I have danced in the unknown for the past few decades. In fact, I often to run to it.
The unknown can be scary. But I embrace it. Why? Because on the good days I think, it may just get better. And on the bad days, I think, it may just get better. Either way, it is not so much the unknown that paralyzes us. It’s our approach. We tend to make up stories in our heads about how awful things may turn out and in reality, they may. However, in most cases the things we fear, they do not come to light.
Not one of us is exempt from troubling times. And that is not what this article is about. It is about the approach to the unknown. I have shared this story on more than a few occasions…
Before my wife became disabled, we were avid hikers. Almost every free day we had, you could find us on the trails. (Well you wouldn’t find us, because we often took the most difficult path, with the likelihood of seeing anyone, would be next to non-existent). Both of us were in great shape. I had more than adequate knowledge of survival and I always carried more than enough supplies needed for the hike.
We were deep into a hike one morning and I suggested that we turn around and she said no. We had been hiking for a few hours, so I asked her why? My wife said something that I have applied to my daily life since then. She said, “You never know what is going to be around the corner.” It’s true. We don’t.
I feel like every day is like that. After spending 20 years being a crisis counsellor, I know that to be true. Many people wake up not knowing if that day will be there last, or if their life is about to be turned upside down. Yet others wake and are prayed up, carry love in their heart and embrace the journey.
“Love like there is no tomorrow.”
I often lecture about the things that scare us. I encourage people for the things that do—run towards them and do it. Why? Because once you do, they have no power over you anymore. Have you ever met a person who was decimated by divorce, but became so unapologetically themselves, that they ended up with the love of their life? Or the person who lost all of there money, and in turn found riches again, but this time beyond their wildest imagination? The road is paved with millions of people who have made the comeback an art form. Not only that, but they are now free from fear. The unknown holds no power.
So get up today and run. Love like there is no tomorrow. Take that trip that you always wanted to. That business that you wanted to start, go and crush it. Maybe it will work out. Maybe it won’t. The unknown is nothing but a blank slate waiting to be painted. Go forth and paint my friend.
