Living With Uncertainty
Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make, not a place you must find.
-Wayne Dyer
The "Great Recession," which had many of us in a headlock for over six years, is beginning to ease and the economy is picking up. During this recession, fear and uncertainty were at an all-time high, news anchors reported on the ever-growing unemployment rates, and nearly every business was negatively affected. It seemed no one was allowed to have hope in any new venture. As soon as one would be expressed, the naysayers would push it down, saying things like, "Not in this economy," and "These are difficult and scary times," and " "How will we possibly afford it?" and "Just be thankful you have a job." Uncertainty keeps us stuck.
The most difficult thing to do in an "age of uncertainty" is to keep faith and hope alive. It seems easy-who doesn't want to trade in fear for faith? But giving up fear is like giving up sugar: they're both sneaky ingredients that hide out in almost everything. And just when you think you've got that craving under control, suddenly it rears its not-so-pretty head again. Therefore, releasing fearful patterns isn't for wimps. It requires brevity, diligence and commitment.
4 Steps to Overcoming Uncertainty
The first step in choosing faith over fear is to understand your fear. To cope with uncertainty we must be willing to look at our fears straight-on. We may need to look back into our past to find the culprit of our fears and attack them at their core. Fearful thoughts may have stemmed from fearful statements we heard over and over in our childhoods, such as, "There's never enough," or "We need to save for emergencies." These statements can become our unconscious internal dialogs which affect everything we do. Witnessing and observing our "fear thoughts" is the first battle to overcoming them.
Once you are aware of your fear statements and thoughts, the next step is to strike them down. The fearful thought of "I might not have enough" can be overridden by thoughts such as "It is false that there is never enough. That is a lie. There is always enough, and I am going to be fine." When your conscious mind speaks to your unconscious mind, you are able to detach from fear-based thoughts. Each time you feel the fear, take a deep breath, step outside your thoughts, observe them, and talk to them. Speak to them in a way a nurturing parent would speak to a child in pain.
The third step is to allow your inner guidance to solve problems and make good decisions. When we become open to letting go of our fear, we relax. We then can open our heart, mind, and energy to be guided to a new perspective. Willingness raises your consciousness of new possibilities and ignites your voice of love, inspiration and intuition. Your inner guidance will direct you and solve your problems for you. We experience intuition as a strong inner knowing that offers us guidance of some form. Inspiration can be experienced as a feeling of flow and excitement that comes through in moments when our thoughts and actions are aligned with love and peace.
When you release your fears, you will begin to raise your thoughts and therefore your energetic state. Your body is a molecular structure that is always vibrating energy. That energy is positive when your thoughts are positive, and it is negative when your thoughts are negative. Our energy fields are like magnets; they attract their likeness. For instance, if you walk into a job interview with uncertainty and fearful thoughts such as, thinking you're not good enough for the position, you energetically exude insecurity and a sense of inadequacy. This energy is not attractive to the employer and you don't get the job. In this instance your thoughts informed your energy, and your energy negatively affected your reality. The "fear to faith" approach allows you to shift your thoughts and energy, thereby attracting positivity into your life. Had you walked into the job believing you were a perfect fit for the job, your energy would exude that same strength. Then the positive impression you made could lead to immediate employment or a future connection. Either way, your positive energy will create a positive result. Releasing fear requires honesty and courage-but it's simple. And if you're willing, you'll be able.
The fourth step in letting go of uncertainty is daily practice. Practice turning fear into faith at least 10 times a day for 10 days and you will create subtle shifts for miraculous change. Meditate or pray for at least 20 minutes a day. Keep a journal to document the fearful thoughts and changed, confident thoughts. Write down all the times in the past when you felt uncertain and fearful, yet things turned out fine, and all your doubting was for naught. Throughout your journey, remain mindful that fear is tricky. We can never have complete certainty, at least not permanently. Right when you think you've got the certainty thing down, fear will sneak back in. This is nothing to be afraid of- just be aware. Being conscious of your fear behavior helps keep it in check.
Take this practice seriously. Trust that as you change your thoughts, your actions and experiences will change accordingly. You may believe that you are responsible for what you do, but not for what you think. The truth is that you are responsible for what you think, because it is only at this level that you can exercise choice. What you do comes from what you think. Each day of your practice you will be "exercising the choice" to change the way you think. As you add up new perceptual shifts you will begin to feel a sense of purpose, clarity and certainty. These feelings will propel you and give you the powerful force to move forward in the direction of your best life!
When you are in a state of gratitude, fear leaves and abundance comes.
---Tony Robbins