Living in the modern left-brained society where instant gratification is honored, and patience is overlooked, it’s easy to get constantly stuck in the tug-of-war between the logical brain and the emotional brain when facing uncertainty on a daily basis.  It can be especially challenging for many creative people.

Shifting roles from my left-brain dominant corporate sales job to becoming a more right-brain guided, an intuitive coach hasn’t been a smooth ride for sure.

When it comes to following my passion, my analytical mind incessantly confronted me to stick with the reality of the world and to play safe.

He (the masculine energy) yelled with intimidation:

“Pursuing your dreams of helping others?!  Are you out of your mind?! You’ve been working in the IT industry for over a decade; you better hold on to your “familiars” to make sure that you get fed well before starving yourself to death as a world savior.  Are you trying to be a martyr?!  You ain’t Mother Teresa!  Give up your crazy thoughts and come back to reality, woman!”

But my feeling channel was conjuring up all the hidden possibilities within me somehow.

She (the feminine side of me) whispers sensitively with tenderness:

“True, you are betting with the unknown and it might seem a bit insane to others who do not understand you.  But it’s ok.  Trust the how you feel.  You’ve been guided on this path to serve authentically as who you are.  Choosing this “unfamiliar” will set your heart free.”

Being sandwiched in between these two inner forces has been a struggle, but after choosing to walk on the heart (“hard?” same sound) path, I feel a deep sense of alignment that I’ve never had in my life.

So why is unknown scary?

If we roll a dice and not knowing what it will be, is that really scary?  No.  It’s not the “unknown” that’s the problem.  It’s the possibility that turns out on that dice might bring us loss, suffering or pain.

We are comfortable in this glass jar we’ve built up around ourselves — the possessions, routines, and people we know and places that are safe and familiar.  We feel scary and vulnerable in a new place where we might not feel secure or good enough, so we feel the pain (fear of failure or rejection) of that change.

Change is inevitable because it’s the only constant.  We are 24 hours older than yesterday, and 24 hours younger than tomorrow.  This is just the nature of this physical reality where we live in.  As we busy cling to this feeling of protecting the glass jar, fighting the change, fearing the change, not wanting things to be different, this doesn’t prevent the fear from coming.

So, here’s what I’ve learned about embracing the unknown as a remedy to feel fear in a different way.

1. Opportunity to uncover your hidden potential

Life can seem like a threat the moment we decide to step out of the safety net.  But, when we don’t allow ourselves to explore the unknown, we automatically choose to cut off all the dreams and desires that our heart is yearning for.

In one experiment where an entire ecosystem was created within a protected bubble, the healthy trees fell unexpectedly.  Researchers later realized that these trees needed wind to build their structural strength to stay upright.

I’ve sometimes found that when I am in a tough situation, such as under a deadline or in a hard emotional place if I can focus on being creative and curious about how I am being strengthened, I thrive.  If we try to avoid the hard work of breaking down our old beliefs, the confining structures, we will not have what it takes to truly inhabit our essential nature.

When you have the willingness to explore shifting your attitude so all your challenging experiences can foster your power as nutrients, you give yourself permission to spread your wings wide.  I believe that each one of us on this planet is uniquely designed and we are all here for a reason.  Please don’t bury the gifts and talents that are embedded in you.  You are gifted, and your gifts matter!

 2. Opportunity to rediscover yourself

Our strength is in embracing the challenges of life, loving all of us including our weaknesses, and saying yes to discomfort.  This does not mean seeking out drama or difficult situations, but using everything (e.g., environment and experiences) in our life to foster more resilience, courage, and core strength when we are facing the unknown.  You might be surprised at seeing yourself from a different perspective.

Unknown can be anything big (major decisions in life),  or small (e.g., learning a different language, new sport, going on a blind date).  But the point is when we give ourselves permission to dive into the unknown with ease; it opens us up to a whole new level of self-discovery like peeling an onion!

 3. Opportunity to practice choosing love over fear

Are you a good friend with yourself?  We are a total package of our body, mind, emotion and spirit.  Do you feel connected to each one of the elements?  Living in the whirlwind of social media world, we are trained to act on autopilot without noticing that there are subtle signs that are constantly communicated through us by its own intelligence.

Our body talks to us constantly.  Check in with your body by feeling the vibes more consciously.  What’s the physical vibe you get when your body feels fear (e.g., judgment, scarcity, hatred, resentment)?  Does it make your muscle tense and contracted, your jaw clench, or your chest tight?

When you’re aligned with your loving truth (e.g., self-accepted, compassionate, empowered), what physical vibes do you get from your body?  Do you feel more relieved and expanded in your heart?  Are you more relaxed and grounded physically?  Notice the way you breathe.  Is it calm or shallow?

Every situation (good or bad) is the perfect moment to develop the sacred connection with our body, mind, emotion, and spirit.   We opt to become our own foe when we let fear to be in the driver’s seat.  But when we lean into what our heart feels, we choose to be our own ally, period.

 4. Opportunity to grow your inner trust

I love when tapping into my creativity flow, especially when being able to coach my clients with total trust that I’m being guided by a higher power that is working behind the scene.  So, I am playing a role of being an instrument to serve my full potential.

When heading into moments of the unknown, it takes a great amount of faith, courage, and trust that the process will fold and unfold by itself.  It’s the co-creation with the Universe where we have the deep knowing that everything is happening for our highest good on this journey, called life.

5. Opportunity to welcome the new, and the better

The willingness to try anything new or take on a challenge is like opening a Pandora’s box.   Instead of staying in the comfort zone of stagnant energy, choose to shake it up a bit.

As you are open to stepping outside of the glass jar and experience the unpredictable, most likely this will make you feel awkward, self-conscious and challenging.   Don’t forget to allow yourself to sit with that feeling and tell yourself “hey, awesome job, buddy! You made it!”  By giving yourself a chance to check in the discomfort zone is like making a manifesto to the Universe that you are willing to make more room to receive the new and better things to your space!

Everything is energy.  Universe is perfectly orchestrated and harmoniously designed as one.  It’s great to try to look for evidence to prove the so-called “oneness” when what we see in this world now is mostly separation.  But instead of using the linear analytical mind of yours, let’s choose to feel more!  Be open.  Be bold.  From the moment you decide to use your heart as the compass to guide you on the expedition into the unknown, you already start manifesting to experience a loving expansion.

“Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”        

– Forrest Gump

 

Sending you lots of love, joy, peace and happiness,

xoxo,

Jen