It can be simple sometimes. | Wise Wednesdays

There’s abundant information on how to create change, navigate uncertainty, and transform your life.

But information is not transformation.

We can be masters of self-reflection and psychological awareness and still feel we’re not quite living up to our potential.

Why?

Because we’re not acting coherently. We might be active, but not aligned.

In coaching conversations, I often see this happen when a possible next step begins to emerge: for a micro-moment, something new becomes possible.

Then comes a flash of anxiety.

And the mind quickly returns to explaining why the current situation is stuck.

Back to the familiar. Back to the tolerable dissatisfaction.

Life can start to feel like it doesn’t quite fit when we’d rather tolerate a situation than take a calculated risk.

Some actions lead to more stagnation and suffering, and others towards a greater sense of freedom and wonder.

But the former has a greater pull, and we find ourselves strangely reliving the same frustrations while feeling we could make a different choice.

Why?

Because ‘better the devil you know’. We often prefer the unhappiness we know to the uncertainty of something new, even when it might lead somewhere better. 

It’s called loss aversion. Fear of loss trumps the sense of possibility. 

But fear isn’t something to suppress or ignore. It’s a messenger of truth. It tells us about what’s important to us and points to where change is possible, if we can engage with it for a moment.

Recognising the pattern is already a powerful step. 

If you want to engage with it further, try the 5Rs.

When you notice the pattern:

Recognise what is happening.

Refrain from feeding the stuckness or escape narrative.

Relax enough to stay with the fear - it will reveal something about what you need.

Reorient towards what’s important - a possibility based on what you love or value deeply.

Respond by taking the smallest action that enacts the sense of possibility.

Then the stuckness starts to shift, change starts to unfold, and a sense of flow returns.

Let fear be information, not instruction. Fear always arrives with possibility.

In freedom.

Amina

P.S. Ways we can work together this season:

1. One-off 5R coaching session to navigate a stuck point or big decision.

2. For your team or organisation: ‘creating tomorrow while today is uncertain’ conversation. Book a time to discuss your specific needs here.