There’s a lot of fear around the unknown and these days, there’s a lot of unknown. Unknown around when it’s safe to meet the family. Unknown when you can go back to the office. Unknown if you will have a job.
We’ve geared towards fearing the unknown because that’s where there are risks. Risks that could cause you harm, so it makes sense to be afraid of this. We don’t know what’s out there. And in the old days, there could be tigers, other tribes, and other dangerous things.
Fear is there to protect you. Yet, it’s a fine line between it protecting you and stopping you from doing something you want to do. I find what helps is to acknowledge the feeling and add “and that’s all right”. For example, “I am scared of the unknown and that’s all right”.
By acknowledging the fear, it helps you move on and go on thinking about what you can do about it. I have worked with clients to help them see that there are opportunities. It can be exciting to think about, design, and create the future they want.
It is a fine line between fear and excitement – try stepping over the line and back to see which helps you more. When you reframe the unknown into possibilities and new experiences that you can learn from, it feels different.