Living on the edge of uncertainty

It’s 2018. We’re hosting our USA version of our Alptitude retreat and have taken the group on a white water rafting trip.

I’m standing at the edge of a 5 metre high rocky outcrop over looking a rushing river. The idea is to jump in. I’m told that it’s deep enough and that I’ll be fine.

But I pace back and forth.

Always staring down at the water.

Imagining what it would be like to fly briefly through the air before plunging into the ice cold rapids.

And still I pace.

As I pace I get more anxious.

I start think about what could go wrong.

I start to think about how best to jump in. Do I run and leap? Do I do a standing jump?

I then think about how I’d feel if I didn’t jump. Will I regret it? Will people think less of me?

I have no idea how to rationally decide what to do.

I don’t have the time or the focus to carefully weigh up the pros and cons of each decision.

Fear, excitement, anxiety and adrenaline flood my body. A potent and thoroughly uncomfortable mix.

I can’t think my way forward.

I can only take a leap of faith.

While building The Happy Startup School I’ve met a lot of people standing on the edge of a proverbial cliff.

They feel the dissatisfaction and discontent of the status quo and they long to explore something new.

However, self worth, identity, parental expectations, lack of peers taking a similar plunge paralyse them from taking the leap.

Often they use money as an excuse as it’s an easy way to say you’re scared without needing to say you’re scared.

They feel like they’re on their own and that if they jump and fail they’ll be laughed at and ridiculed.

But they’re not on their own.

They don’t realise that there are so many just like them. With dreams of more meaningful ways of working but feeling like it’s too risky to pursue.

And so they live on the edge of uncertainty.

Always looking over the edge.

Forever, pacing the boundary.

And always hesitating to jump.

And that’s fine.

As human beings we’ve been hardwired to fear uncertainty.

The fearful ones, our ancestors, were the ones that survived. We’ve inherited their caution.

But unlike them, our fears aren’t about being eaten by lions. They’re about not conforming to an expectation set by society, friends, parents or all three.

And being rejected.

Because our ancestors, the survivors, were also the ones who stayed with the tribe.

The tribe that feared uncertainty and threw out those that didn’t follow the rules.

So it’s okay to hesitate.

Especially if you’re on your own.

But you don’t have to be.

And it’s okay to leap with fear.

As long as you also leap with faith.

Faith is knowing that there are not enough answers in the world to please your rational brain.

It is about owning the inherent uncertainty of life.

It is about navigating life without a compass and knowing that following a different path, no matter how scary, is okay.

It’s okay not to jump.

And it’s also okay to take the leap.

If you’re ready to take the leap but not sure how to start and wishing you didn’t have to do it on your own then in March 2023 we’ll be launching Tribe 7 of our Vision 20/20 program.

It’s an invite-only program for entrepreneurs and leaders seeking new horizons.

We’ll share the tools, tactics and strategies that helped us build The Happy Startup School and help you develop the mindset shifts you need to put them into action.

Forget the exit strategy, what’s your excite strategy?