In the past month, I have met with one of our colleagues from Hong Kong, Amy Yeung, who is creating an ebook titled Career Planning in Times of Uncertainty.
As part of this development, she is partnering with the University of Hong Kong to develop a supporting workshop and was interested in exploring some practical ways to approach this topic.
As we considered what might be possible for a section of Amy’s ebook entitled ‘Turn this time of uncertainty into a time of opportunity’, it became clear that our ideas could be shared more broadly and the Global Leadership Foundation blog felt like the perfect vehicle.
For many of us across the globe, our world has been turned upside down in recent times. What we are now experiencing has a high level of unpredictability associated with it, whether that is related to the Covid–19 pandemic, the devastating effect we are having on our climate and the broader environment, or the results of political change and unrest.
We also know that many of us are experiencing doubts, frustrations and anxiety as a result of all his unpredictability. And while we appreciate that these are very real and often difficult issues to deal with, Amy and I wondered what it might be like to push the ‘pause button’ on those critical thoughts and become curious about what is possible rather than impossible.
To find those opportunities, we know we can’t look at the world from our previous perspectives and expect to see something different. So what can we do to bring those opportunities to life?
What if I couldn’t fail?
One question we love to use is:
‘If you could do anything, safe in the knowledge that you could not fail at it, what would that be?’
We are not suggesting that you suddenly jump into being a ‘rock star’ (which is my response). What we are encouraging is for you to consider why this is something you would like to do and what is behind that dream? It is amazing to start that conversation with someone and work with the thoughts and ideas that come up.
Engaging the centres
Another way of turning uncertainty into opportunity is to bring the three centres into the mix so that we can engage in whatever we are experiencing with more than the one or two centres we normally rely on.
For instance, to strengthen your instinct and orientation to act through the body centre, ask yourself questions like: ‘What does my ‘gut’ tell me?’, ‘What am I sensing?’ and ‘What do I deeply need from this opportunity?’
To enhance your intuition and better understand the emotional connections using the heart centre, ask yourself: ‘What does my intuition tell me?’, ‘What emotions am I noticing?’ and ‘What do I truly feel about this opportunity?’
To bring insight, knowledge and reasoning to the fore through the head centre, ask yourself: ‘What insights do I have?’, ‘What ideas and possibilities come to mind?’ and ‘What do I really think about this opportunity?’
Creating an intent
Finally, one of the most valuable approaches we can take to turn uncertainty into opportunity is to consciously create an intent of how we want to be as the opportunity unfolds, rather than thinking only about what we are going to do.
Asking ‘How do I want to be in this opportunity?’ invokes a ‘quality’ we would like to hold. Some examples are ‘curious’, ‘open’, ‘enthusiastic’, ‘aware’, ‘confident’. The list is endless.
The next step is to stay present to what shows up. Look for the quality you have chosen in those around you, within your environment, in the ideas you or others have, in what you might read or watch. You will definitely experience clues or signs, clear directions – almost as if you were being tapped on the shoulder and pointed in the right direction. Allow yourself to be surprised and pleased with the results and enjoy whatever unfolds as the opportunity expands.
Try exploring any of these techniques that feels right for you. Depending on your circumstances you may need to explore more than one to move forward, however we are confident that they can help you reveal opportunities you had not previously considered, no matter what your uncertainty.
Gayle
It’s time to work on and focus on the pandemic dividend.