This morning, I was in my basement doing my daily exercise to a muted YouTube video and listening to Brooke Castillo’s, “The Life Coach School Podcast,” episode #318, also on YouTube. This episode is called, “Future Self in Uncertainty.” Castillo released it about a year ago during the beginning of the pandemic. Also about a year ago, I started listening to her podcast sequentially, starting with episode #1. Today for me, on episode #318, Brooke was talking about some of the people she was mentoring at the time. Because of great uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, some of them wanted to change their big goals or weren’t currently working on their plan. In the podcast, Brooke makes it clear, that despite uncertainty, you will still be who you are. You can maintain the same sense of purpose.
She gives the example of a woman she was coaching who considers herself a creator. That’s who she is: a creator. They came up with a crazy, zombie-apocalypse-like scenario about this person being one of the last three people on the planet. Brooke said, “Then it’s a good thing you’re a creator. You’re going to want to create a baby!”
What optimism. What perspective. I wish I understood this years ago. I can certainly be who I am no matter my circumstances. I can maintain my dreams and sense of purpose. I don’t have to feel paralyzed in the face of uncertainty.
When my college roommate “Margo” was killed, it introduced a world of uncertainty into my life. I remember when I was particularly stressed during finals week, I wondered if all the hard work was worth it.
I said to my wise friend George, “What’s the point? I could die a day before graduation. How would all this hard work matter?”
George said, “Because you might not die.”
Yeah? True, but that was barely enough of an answer for me. It felt like a 50/50 chance, especially because of the recent death of my roommate. The odds didn’t feel great. Of course I eventually graduated from college, but it almost felt lucky.
I tiptoed through life for years. I kept doing things, but often held back because of potentially challenging circumstances. Many times, I let uncertainty stop me from accomplishing dreams and goals. It has often felt difficult to let myself dream in the first place.
Oh, how I wish I’d believed this sooner!
No matter what our circumstances, we can still be who we want to be.
That matters. That makes it all worth it. We don’t have to feel paralyzed by the fear of potential problems or obstacles. We can dream fearlessly. Yes, we might fail, but we might not. We will definitely fail by not trying. Even if things don’t work out like I hope, I will still be me. I can still fulfill my purpose in life.
This is simple and probably obvious to most people. To me, another piece of the puzzle snapped into place.
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