Five Ways to Combat Seasons of Uncertainty

There is so much more to the book than the page you think you’re stuck on.

Have you ever felt lost? Discouraged by your role in life or your career? Confused about where you are and what you’re supposed to do next? *raises hand through the roof*

As I sit here, 8 days away from my 25th birthday I am feeling an array of emotions. Uncertainty being the front runner and for the first time in my life, I am anxious about the future.

Let me be clear, I am extremely fortunate that my current jobs allow me to pay my bills, tend to our home and pursue my passion projects. I am grateful for the time I get to devote to my blog, photography and all of the other creative ventures I undertake. Unfortunately for me, my passion projects don’t exactly “bring home the bacon.”

Some days I can’t help but think that maybe I should have been more intentional throughout my college career. That maybe I should have went with the “safe” choice, took the 9-5 job that offered benefits and a 401k. Maybe then I wouldn’t be sitting here, uneasy about the clock ticking down on my insurance policy, fearful of where my path will lead me. Or maybe you’re sitting at your desk, wishing you hadn’t played it “safe.” Maybe you’re wishing you would have followed your passion opposed to the pay-check.

Call it a rut, call it a funk or just simply call it life. We’ve all been there and we are all searching for a way out!

Here are some ways that I am keeping my head above water in a season of uncertainty.

• Focus on gratitude: Keep going back to the things that you are grateful for. Write it in a journal, on your phone or with a marker on the mirror. Focus on the things you do have opposed to the things that you don’t. Trust that the turbulence and trials of this life will never outweigh the beauty that awaits us on the other side of the storm.

• Lean on prayer: I encourage you to invest in a relationship with the one that has seen this through, the one who promises a life of prosperity and hope for you. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (NIV)

• Keep moving forward: You are on the right path. Even if it doesn’t feel like it today or even if it hasn’t felt like it for a year. Each step forward is a step in the right direction.

• Never give up on the things that keep you up at night, the ventures that you get lost in or the passion projects that light a fire in your soul. You don’t have to settle for contentment, nor should you give up on your dreams when the going gets tough. I encourage you to keep putting one foot in front of the other. Show up when it’s hard and step out of the comfort zone that is holding you back.

• Show yourself some grace: Your life doesn’t have to make sense to be filled with purpose. Your path is allowed to be messy, ever-changing and full of surprises. It is a beautiful thing to have a path that is uniquely yours and a story that only you are able to tell. Be kind to yourself and wake up everyday with grace in your heart and light within your soul. We will all get to where we’re going, eventually. So until then.. carry on, Warrior.

XX, Paige