125. Strategies for Navigating Ambiguity and Finding Clarity in Life and Work

Overview

As we leave January behind, many of us are still in the process of figuring out what we want out of this year.

When we’re setting goals or ambition seeking, it’s not uncommon to be unsure of what we want, while at the same time longing to be clear on the path forward.

That desire for clarity can put us on a path of aiming for what we should be doing or pursuing. But if our ambitions are going to be sustainable, we have to make them our own.

Living with the ambiguity as we define our own ambitions can feel challenging. Today, I want to offer some ways of navigating the uncertainty with a bit more ease.

Listen below or on your favorite podcast player.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• Why I like to take a Slow January and the importance of pacing to Sustainable Ambition

• How insisting on clarity can actually keep us stuck

• How our culture influences our discomfort with ambiguity

• How reframing our mindset around “Wicked Problems” can take some of the stress out of complex decision-making

• How framing your goals as questions rather than declaratives can help you navigate uncertainty

• What we can take from innovation processes to help us through complex problems

• Why it’s worth it to say “this is it for now”

Resources Mentioned

• A Guide to Living in Not Knowing: 15 Lessons to Survive and Thrive during Uncertainty & Growth Stages

• 124: Navigating the Fluid Future of Work with Connie Steele

• The Cynefin Framework

• Wicked Problem

• 123: 2024: Think Differently

• Poet Maggie Smith on embracing ambiguity, ReThinking with Adam Grant

• The Marginalian 

• 120. Making Hard Decisions and Building Belonging with Amy Bonsall

• Jenny Blake, Pivot

• The Creative ACT: A Way of Being, Rick Rubin 

• Satisficing 

• The fence is uncomfortable, but it affords the best view, Iris Schneider, Psyche

• 114: The Power of Designing Your Motivation and Ambition with Ayelet Fishbach

Thanks for Listening!

• Send me ideas for what you’d like to hear on the podcast, or a question that might be read and answered here on the show! Email me at podcast@SustainableAmbition.com

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