Reflection: Sometimes it seems to me that the more we ‘know’, the tougher life gets. Our certainty about situations can lead to a hardening of the ‘heart-eries’, and ultimately more stress and frustration.
Certainty says: This is good and that is bad, or I am right and you are wrong.
Certainty can lead us to repeat the same actions with greater force and speed, exhausting ourselves as we create ever more disappointing results.
If you’ve ever been stuck in a snowbank and continued to step on the gas, certain that just a few more spins of the tires will be sure to get you out, you know what I mean. It doesn’t work. You simply dig yourself a deeper hole. Things get worse, not better.
A more helpful way of ‘c’-ing can be to substitute curiosity for certainty.
Curiosity leads us to look more closely at what’s happening or not happening and invites us to experiment in new ways with the potential for better – or at least different – outcomes.
Action: The next time you find yourself rooted in certainty, try being more curious about other ideas and ways of being. (more…)
