Writing your future
There’s a scene at the end of Back to the Future Part III where Jennifer is holding a piece of paper with writing on it that she she obtained from the future, and the writing disappears.
When she asks Doc about it, he says “it means your future hasn’t been written yet, so make it a good one.”
Nothing has been more true.
When you put it in those terms, the future becomes pregnant with all kinds of possibility.
And yet most people live a default future.
They don’t realize the incredible capacity they have to create their future.
They see uncertainty and feel overwhelmed by it rather than invigorated by it.
Uncertainty is really what makes life exciting.
It is what allows you to take a chance and see what happens.
To run an experiment and iterate.
To take a risk and hedge your bets.
The problem is when all you see is uncertainty, and you forget the other variables in the equation.
As Rumsfeld Matrix reminds us, there are 4 categories to consider when facing uncertainty:
Known knowns
Unknown knowns
Known unknowns
Unknown unknowns
The later two categories are where true uncertainty lies. You don’t know what you don’t know.
But the second category is what most people overlook.
You actually know more than you think.
Photo by Nikolai Ulltang on Pexels
Unknown knowns are variables that are knowable, but you need to take the time to surface them.
This might mean tuning into your inner compass and making a decision that is aligned with your values.
It might mean seeking out an expert who can illuminate something they know that you need to know.
However you pursue this information, once you discover it, something shifts.
What once seemed so daunting because of all the unknowns becomes smaller.
The pool of knowns becomes larger, and the pool of unknowns becomes smaller.
Your decision-making becomes that much more informed.
That is the best you can hope for when moving forward in uncertainty.
So as you write your future, what feels unknown but is actually with your reach of discovery?
When you pursue this understanding, what shifts for you?
If you’re facing a big decision and would like support, reply to this e-mail and let me know.
Love,
Audrey
