Between the minutes of running my dog to the vet for her annual appointment, meeting the team to promote our upcoming event, lunch with the staff members at a college, coaching freshman boys volleyball, dodging the crowds at Costco, reading a bedtime story to my 10 month old, catching up on all my new school work, writing this massive run-on sentence; magically, somehow, I saw Now is the Time: 170 Ways to Seize the Moment by Patrick Lindsay.  My fingers just picked a page to open and I looked down to read it. 

The world absolutely amazes me at it's impeccable timing.  The page read as follows:

            Now is the time….

There's a quote by Heraclitus that says: "The only thing that is constant is change."

I guess this leaves us with a lot of uncertainty in life, huh? 

If you think about it, there’s uncertainty in all seasons of life.  Getting married, having children, buying a home, changing positions, changing careers, and moving are just to name a few.

So my question is...how do we proactively embrace uncertainty?

For me, here's 3 "must-do's" to tolerate the ebb and flow of life:

1)   Know your strengths.  Knowing my strengths allows me to understand how I think, feel, and behave.  It's the lens I see the world through.  This gives me a better understanding of how I can self-manage and remain confident even when I am faced with the unknown.  Let me give you an example:

Starting a new business can be scary but knowing my top 5 Strengths has given me the tools to     handle the unexpected.  When situations arise that are unfamiliar I use my learner to understand and research every aspect of the situation.  My restorative  (problem-solver theme) allows me to come up with many different outcomes instead of just one-way of thinking.  My discipline helps me create a structure and process for each outcome.  My responsibility knows that whatever outcome this situation will have I can trust myself to take action and do it well all while having a positive outlook- my positivity.

2)   "Lean in" to complimentary relationships.  We were not created to “do” life alone.  This is where complimentary partnerships are key.  Having a strong social network can help combat those emotions associated with uncertainty: stress, anxiety, and depression.  According to Gallup, a person is 30 times more likely to laugh when he’s with somebody than when he is alone.  Another great benefit to complimentary partnerships is the world in which we see our lives is not the same world our friends see.  They might see the situation more clearly than you see yourself.  Lean in and lean on!

3)   Do the downward dog and breath. According to Paul J. Whalen, when you feel uncertain, your amygdala—an almond-shaped structure located in your temporal lobes—revs you up by signaling to the rest of the brain that a fight-or-flight response might be needed. The prefrontal cortex in turn receives the alarm call from the amygdala and can agree and take action or recognize that there’s no cause for concern and quell the amygdala. But sometimes it isn’t able to control the amygdala on its own. When you feel that anxiety, you need to engage the prefrontal cortex directly. How do you do that?  Meditation, therapy, or yoga.

Find this helpful?  How do you deal with uncertainty?  Leave us a comment below!

Where there is human life- there is comparison.  We live in a world filled with “what you should be” or “what you need to be”.  Every time you turn on the TV or open a magazine it is filled with unrealistic, perfect pictures of women and men.  The obsession to have a certain body type, to wear “such and such” designer, driving a blah blah blah has created a culture based on what you have and not who you are. How depressing.  I ask myself- what would the world look like if we just lived for being the one-of-a-kind person we were created to be?  And started with what’s on the inside.  Can you imagine a culture based on what’s in your heart?  The joy you bring to others?  The way you serve your community? 

As a young girl, I fought this culture current every step of the way.  Not because I believed it was wrong but because neither my parents nor I had the income to put me in Abrocombie & Fitch and give me a BMW on my 16th birthday.  It was hard.  No, I should rephrase that and say it was painful.  It was painful because I was measured and defined by what I had.  As many of you know, in high school the most important thing to a girl is being liked her by peers and “fitting in.”  I began placing my worth on what I had and what I lacked.  This mindset would continue for years to come…

By my late 20’s I had accomplished a lot-by the world’s standards.  I went to a great college on an academic scholarship.  Moved from my hometown and headed out west to the land of opportunity.  Once landing in San Diego, more specifically, Coronado Island I was living what most people could only dream of.  I was in the hustle and bustle of sales making 6-figures, traveling, exploring, shopping, and then repeat.  Until one day I woke and realized that I was absolutely miserable in this life I created.  Sure, I loved having money.  I loved traveling and seeing the world.  I loved my shopping sprees at Nordstrom and not thinking twice; but there was only a brief relief before I repeated the cycle again.

I hit my quarter-life crisis at 31.  After shingles and sleeping disorders, I vowed to devote some quality time to my well-being.  Let me first start off by saying that this was one of the most painful yet most rewarding seasons in my life.  Over the next year, I focused inward.   

Self-work is often the most uncomfortable work we’ll ever do.  It requires digging.  It requires confronting.  It requires answering questions you don’t want to answer.  It requires vulnerability.  For me, it also required accepting and owning the value I placed on myself. It took a deep understanding of how I got swept up with the current of culture to see that I almost drowned in it. 

Through my self-exploration not only was I able to break free from whom the world wanted me to be but was also able to regain “me”.  I regained happiness in ordinary days.  Working on the inside allowed me to gain clarity on the outside.  My values became a reflection of my heart.  My soul became satisfied.  I began to recognize and love the person in the mirror.  My relationships began to flourish.  I had more energy to devote to the people I loved and wanted to serve.  Here, I found the authentic me.

The catalyst that started this journey was Strengths.  It was through my Strengths discovery I was able to build a solid foundation of what truly made me- “me”.  This insight revealed I had real power behind what came so naturally to me.  I focused on that.  The good stuff.  The stuff that made me feel strong.  With this confidence I was able to see the world and myself in a very different way.  I found that being “me” was so much better than being someone else, that is was easier and gave me more leverage to succeed.  But most importantly, it gave me a purpose.

This is what reCreate wants for EVERY.SINGLE.PERSON.  We want to help you rediscover your purpose.  We want you to know that being “you” is the best thing you can do for yourself, your family, your relationships, and your careers.  This is where the magic happens.  This is where we stop running with the current and start living out our strengths!

My hope is that you get to experience returning to "you".


With Much Love,
Sarah