I really don’t want there to be uncertainty, and yet here we are. Much of what I do as an accountant is to account for certainty. I plan for future cash flow issues, double check the processes in our systems, and reconcile accounts to verify transactions. Accounts like verification. It’s one of our principles.
Confronted with COVID-19, we are standing in deep pools of uncertainty and we’re in a constant state of not knowing. I keep reminding myself that it’s okay to not know, that there is something beautiful about not knowing. It even sounds nice to say “not knowing” a few times in a row. This helps assuage my feelings of discomfort.
People don’t want to their lives to change, and yet it is something all of our ancestors have experienced to much more extreme degrees.
Underneath the weighty burden of COVID-19 news, it is hard to know what to think. Business owners are concerned (rightfully so!) and confused. And the more we try to “solve” these problems or come up with a game plan, I find me and my clients are just more angry.
Some business owners may feel vulnerable financially, or more so annoyed that there is no certainty. That’s the word that keeps popping into my head; uncertainty. Uncertainty is unwelcome. It is discomforting. Uncertainty causes me to feel anxious, and perhaps you as well. I generally want to know what is going to happen. I want to be able to “solve” it or assist others in coming up with a solution.
Enjoying the “Not Knowing”
What eases my frustration with the uncertainty is that the more I sit with and examine in, I find there is something welcome there. Much of what I do as an accountant is certain, accurate, and relatively predictable. The same can be said for most people in their work. What we miss in our predictable lives is the ability to not know.
Not too long ago, people were not insulated from the unexpected actions of the natural world. They dealt with heartbreak on a regular basis. Without even giving specific examples, we intuitively understand this as human beings. I suppose this is my prompt to say it is a time to practice or re-learn how to be heartbroken.
If this gives you pause, keep in mind that the scientific field has proven that feeling the sadness/grief/heartbreak eases the burden. I think business owners could learn from this concept in a time like this.
More topics:
Smart Growth in Cities/ Smart growth for business