Is Crazy the New Normal? 10 Gifts from Living in the Unknown

• Are you moving through a relationship or health crisis?
• Are you in career transition and asking, "What's next?"
• Do world events seem particularly challenging for you to digest right now? 

For many of us, it feels as if we're headed into a brave, new frontier without a map, and we're being asked to evolve and create new tools for navigating this unchartered landscape as we go. Taking a 30,000-foot view, there's no doubt that collectively we're facing unprecedented levels of change, uncertainty, and chaos. In an era where economic and political volatility has become a mainstay, additionally, we're juggling parenting our parents, dealing with the realities of globalization and living farther away from our families, fighting off digital overwhelm, facing fallout from natural disasters, and the list goes on. In addition to all these outward changes, we're also being called to transform internally. Humanity is undergoing huge consciousness shifts and many of us are feeling the call to evolve and embrace new ways of being. Across the board, the majority of my friends, colleagues, clients—and even my own family—are navigating uncertainty and experiencing some type of transition right now. So how do we keep our sanity—not to mention sense of inner peace—in the face of so much tumult? For many of us, living in the unknown can often feel worse than receiving actual "bad news," i.e. news that is contrary to what we want! It can conjure up the old "waiting for the other shoe to fall" feeling. It can feel unsettling, elicit overwhelm, and challenge the illusion that we're in charge! But, if you're willing to keep breathing and stay with this feeling, there is also a place within the unknown that is exhilarating, fresh, and filled with potential and rebirth. If you can move out of "paralysis by analysis," living in the unknown can be an incredible opportunity for spiritual, personal, and professional growth. Sometimes I think we need the reminder that it's okay to outgrow your old clothes and try on something you never thought was your style. Living in the unknown offers you the opportunity to:

• Examine your values (what's most important to you?) and be willing to explore life from the inside out
• Practice gratitude: giving thanks for all you do have; a daily gratitude practice shifts your mood faster than anything
• Define what happiness really means to you (your answer may surprise you!)
• Identify your anchors and what you need to truly rejuvenate and deeply nourish yourself
• Practice mindfulness and live more in the present moment; right here, right now is the only true stress-free zone
• Explore your contemplative side: step back and take time to reflect and examine your fears and barriers to success
• Pause and examine how you see things (do you play the "what if" up game or the "what if" down game; are you an optimist or a pessimist?)
• Build a support network: get comfortable asking for and receiving help
• Imagine the possibilities: are you open to expanding into an even better life/job/relationship/business than you ever imagined
• Serve others, volunteer: nothing pulls us outside of ourselves faster than working in a soup kitchen
• Feel so you can heal: breathwork, yoga, and conscious movement are essential tools for navigating uncertain times.

Are you willing to explore the gifts that come from being in a state of limbo? Life is continually shifting: chaos, order, chaos, and so on. This week I'm playing with the concept of being just as comfortable with the wild unknown as I am with those forces in my life that ground me. Renée Peterson Trudeau is an internationally recognized transformational coach, speaker, and president of Career Strategists, an award-winning coaching and consulting firm. She is the author of three best-selling books on life balance, including the award-winning The Mother's Guide to Self-Renewal: How to Reclaim, Rejuvenate and Re-Balance Your Life. A sought-after expert, Renée's work has been featured in the New York Times, US News & World Report, Good Housekeeping, and Spirituality & Health.