Finding Solid Ground in Uncertainty
Even when floating through the air of uncertainty, you can still find the ground.
One of the hardest and best periods of my life took place in the spring of 2014. My wife and I were pregnant with our first daughter, Emme, I had just been part of shutting down a startup I had poured everything into over the prior 3 years, and I had absolutely, positively, no idea where or what I’d do next. It was terrifying. It was energizing. It full of scary outcomes, and endless possibilities.
Closing the company down had been like letting go of the trapeze. Though up to that point it had been a scary flight through the air, at least I had something to cling to. But once I let go, I was just flying through the air with nothing solid to hold or be held by. At first, it was absolutely terrifying — Where was I going to land? Was I going to be OK? Where is the next thing for me to cling tightly to? When is this flight going to end?! And then something shifted for me.
What if instead of being afraid to hit the ground, I could learn to love to fly? What if instead of looking for the answers out there, I could get curious about what was going on in here? What if I could see the air around me as an endless possibility instead of empty space? The possibility to not only determine what I wanted, who I wanted to work with, but who I was. I learned to get curious about the moment, the feeling of the uncertainty, about who I had been, and who I might be.
I read more than I had ever read. I met with so many interesting and amazing people as I had always wanted to do. I moved, a lot. And in flying through the air, I learned a crucial lesson that I still carry today — even when floating through the air of uncertainty, you can still find the ground. You can find ground within. You can be grounded by finding who you are and what you stand for.
I was speaking to a friend recently who just left his company after many years of slog. I could feel his anxiety, his sense of overwhelm, his terror though also the excitement of what might lie ahead. I felt for him for sure, and I also felt a bit jealous and hopeful. For I know, if he leans in, the moments ahead of him could be generative for him. He too can find the certainty of knowing you can find ground even when floating.
