Riding the Wave of Uncertainty

I’m a self-admitted control freak. If I’m not in control, I’m out of control.

I’m a planner. I plan everything.

I’m a goal setter. I set goals for the immediate short term, the mid-term and long term.

I love surprises. Well, I love them even more when I know what they are without the other person suspecting I know.

At the moment I’m at an uncertain time in my life.

Job cuts are imminent under this government and we can already see the positions disappearing from government departments that were once thought of as safe houses. I know they are targeting analysts as the government is analyst heavy. I’m an analyst. I don’t know what my future holds or where my future will take me. I am not in control and I cannot control this.

What I can control is how I react to it. Every single one of us has choices in life that relate to how we react to certain events, incidents or anything really. Most people haven’t ever thought about it. They just jump in and do what they’ve always done without question. As an analyst, that’s not me. I tend not to stress about things that I have little or no control over unless it affects me personally, directly.

My job is personal, but it’s not the only job I have, nor are my skills so limited that I’d never be able to do anything different. The changes ahead aren’t necessarily bad as most presume. They say change is as good as a holiday. It might give me the push to pursue new and alternate dreams which I once thought were far away on the horizon.

Uncertainty.

It brings about a flurry of thoughts and emotions. A lot of ‘what ifs’ and ‘what nots’ float aimlessly through the air encouraging confusion and unsettling nerves. I can feel the general mood in the room has changed, there is nervous chatter and half fake smiles.

Choice.

I choose to not get caught up in it. I’m still working away at my set task, not knowing if the task itself will be redundant before the day is finished. I choose to focus on the bigger things I’ve got going on. These bigger things include my weight loss journey, my goals and in general my life. Yes, a job is necessary to fund these journeys, but it doesn’t specify that it must be the current job I’m in right now. I am not jumping the gun and making plans to leave because I don’t know if that’s what will happen. In fact all I am going to do is ride this wave of uncertainty.

This is not the way I would have handled this scenario had it happened a year or so ago. This is not the way a lot of people are expecting me to handle it.

I’ve already been in touch to find out what my options are when it comes to mortgages, debts etc and I’m fine. I’m not losing my health, I’m not losing my house nor my car. All it will be is a change.

Notice how I keep repeating that? It’s because it’s what I believe and I need to keep reinforcing that so I don’t get swept up by it all.

No matter what it is you are facing in life, no matter the obstacle or the situation, you have a choice. You can choose how to react. Your reacting will in turn dictate how that choice affects you and whether  you make it into a big deal or not. Your reaction will also affect how those around you react to it. Emotions are contagious – you can influence others without realising it.

So next time you’re faced with change or adversity or anything at all, pause, think about how you’re going to react before you do. It’s amazing the difference it makes.