Here is the fact that nobody wants to acknowledge; There is no certainty in the world. None, zip, nada! People, by nature seek out a security in their jobs, their relationships, in their finances and among their tribe of friends. No one has successfully done it yet because, let me say it again for the people back there in the cheap seats, There Is No Certainty In The World!
Am I some loser with no job, no friends and no opportunities in the world and just spouting my bitterness onto you? Much to the contrary, I believe that the uncertainties in life have afforded me the greatest opportunities to be free, successful and accomplished. Imagine the irony of that. Ok, let me explain why I know this is true before you think I’m selling something.
The fearful among our human tribe seeks out a secure nine-to-five job sitting in a cubicle somewhere, taking orders from the supervisor in the next cubicle. He or she expects to do that for about forty years and retire with a gold watch, a cake and a pension. That was how it worked out in your grandfather’s time but times have changed. The average person will change jobs seven times over their working lives. Companies are getting gobbled up by other larger companies or holding companies at a rate never seen before. Employees are expendable regardless of how long you have been there or how nestled into the corporate fabric you have become. Do you have any friends working at Lehman Brothers these days?
The less fearful branch out to become entrepreneurs of some sort whether in a sales profession or creating a start-up company. There are good months and there are bad months and half never make it past the five-year mark. Security? No matter what field you delve into, a thousand others have been there first and are fierce competitors. Those that do make it find that making a pile of money is still unsatisfying, a fact that those still striving for that big cash smile have yet to comprehend. Uncertainty is certain.
Seeking a relationship with a spouse or significant other to find a safe haven of security in life is like getting a first class ticket on the Titanic. Marriages fail in the United States at a rate of 40-50% on the first try. In perspective try to imagine going skydiving at 3000 feet and the jumpmaster assures you that your parachute has a 50-60% chance of opening. Still want to jump? All anyone can offer you is the uncertainty that this might work out, though a few dozen previous attempts haven’t. Even if you are anyone’s dream partner, the other person might not be and there is no way to tell until you take the leap. Uncertainty is certain.
So, how can uncertainty serve you into a path of ultimate freedom? Listen carefully because here it is. By letting go of your perceived certainties which only lead to disappointments, frustration, and bitterness, when they fail you, you accept that there is no certainty in life. There are no guarantees, no lifetime warranties, and no ironclad agreements. You step out of the front door every morning into a freedom of choices, options, ideas, and possibilities. One may be better than the other but you won’t know that until you try it. You might fail on that job, in that relationship or that experience. Life is one huge chance, a risk and the very best information that you have now to make a choice will be obsolete in a month. Those that try to dig a hole and plant themselves firmly into it to feel secure are ignorant of the flood waters rising around them and they drown.
Those that take risks, fail, get up and try again, fail again and learn along the way what works and what doesn’t are the happiest people on the planet. They find that limitlessness is a journey and letting go of the nine-to-five desk, the first relationship or group of friends that accept you and accept the new, the scary uncertainty that life is anyway, is the ultimate freedom. What if your new path isn’t the right one for you? Have you wasted your time, money and energy? Oh hell no! There are a thousand others to travel and considering you are pissing most of your money away in accumulating useless stuff anyway, why fret over a few dollars trying to find your happiest destination for your life? So you kissed a frog, we all have. So you have tied the knot so many times it looks like a noose, untie, retry or learn to live in quiet solitude until what is best for you unfolds because it always does. Love yourself first.
Why stay in professional or personal relationships that dwindle you down to a new level of misery? There is a door in front of you. Are you afraid of what might be on the other side? The happiest among us were too but we went through it and found our destiny, our true purpose in life and we found what most never will, passion and fulfillment.
Ready? Jump!
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