How to Stay Positive During Uncertain Times

By Nan Nan Liu-Maffetone | Strong Female Leaders | Reading Time: Five Minutes

Your life will almost always be filled with uncertainties. You can either feel anxious and defeated or embrace the ambiguity and welcome new possibilities. Of course, we all want to do the ladder but know that it is easier said than done. From grade school to grad school, we've been trained to master many things. Yet few of us have been trained to conquer life's twists and turns. What can you do to stay positive during uncertain times? Scroll down and find out.


How to Stay Positive During Uncertain Times?
1. Reframe the situation.
If the glass is half full, you will never feel desperate for water. To survive an unpredictable world, change your mindset and look for the positive in everything. Fear impairs judgement and decision-making. Instead of letting fear run wild, recognize and contain it by turning anxiety about the unknown into excitemnt for the future.
An action that you can take immediately is to write all positive thoughts in a journal. What are you excited about in the future? What made you smile today? What are you grateful for? Play the numbers game and shoot for 10, 20 or 50 good thoughts. In no time, your fear will dissapear.
2. Find out what you can and cannot control.
Uncertainty can make you feel like you've lost control. However, you've got more handle on things than you realize. You just need to take a deep breath first.
Next, draw a T-shaped table and take stock of what you know versus what you don't know. What you can find out more about versus what you can't quite understand yet. Last, what you can control versus what you cannot control.
Another exercise that you can do is the 10-question method. Reduce ambiguity by asking at least 10 questions, in order to narrow the scope and find clarity in an obscure situation. When you have found enough answers, you will realize that you have more solid information than you thought did.
No one likes the feeling of losing control; but if you focus on thinking logically, you will slowly gain it back and feel a whole lot better.
3. Make a decision and stick with it.
Winners take risks. Instead of asking 100 what-ifs and never move forward, make a decision and go for the win. Of course, you don't want to go about it blindly. Let your personal vision and intrinsic mission drive your decision-making. If what seems like a good idea doesn't lead you to where you want to go, then drop it and onto the next.
Ideas come and go, but the ones that you should execute on are the ones that get the results that you want.
4. Stop dwelling on the problems.
What you focus on is your reality. If you focus on the problems, then your reality will be filled with more problems. However, if you focus on the positive and take action to improve yourself and your situation, all your problems will go away. In spite of uncertainly, focus on making every moment a great one.
5. Trust your instincts.
Above all, you are an intuitive being. You are intelligent, experienced and confident. Even in the face of uncertainty, you know that you will come out ahead. So, if a situation is unclear, trust your gut feeling and embrace the power within. There is nothing that you cannot do if you put your mind to it, so screw the troubles around you and believe in your abilities.
6. Have a plan B.
If you are wrong, you are wrong. You can't avoid making mistakes in life, and especially during uncertain times. To be more efficient and confident, have a plan B so that when mistakes happen, you already know how to correct course. You should never let mistakes get you down. With a plan B, and sometimes C and D as well, you always have a way to move forward.
7. If all else fails, channel an alter ego.
A carefully-planned alter ego allows you to use your imagination to get from where you are to where you want to be. You don't have to become someone else, because an alter ego is just a variation of yourself. And in this variation, you are a positive light in times of uncertainly, and your "super power" is to help yourself and everyone else stay calm, collected and confident during difficult times. Ever heard of the saying "fake it til' you make it?" That's what an alter ego is for.
Parting Thoughts
A leadership mindset enables you to navigate through uncertainties and take the lead in chaos. While the world continues to evolve and grow more complex, you can stay grounded and level-headed by leaning into the storm with confidence, finesse and most importantly, positivity. You cannot predict the future but you can predict that you will prevail in the most arduous situations.