Current e-Journal
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March 4, 2025
How to move through
uncertainty
In this week’s Systems Change Newsletter…
- Invitations and Announcements
- Catalytic Thinking Exercise: How to move through uncertainty
- Resources to Further Your Practice
Invitations & Announcements
To stay current on the current crisis that is happening in the U.S., follow Creating the Future’s page at LinkedIn, where we are sharing the latest updates from a variety of sources. And for a more personal spin on what you can do – both to take action AND to stay as sane as possible - follow Hildy’s LinkedIn posts.
Catalytic Thinking Exercise:
Moving through Uncertainty
Whether it is political instability or stuff you are going through in your own life, uncertainty can be debilitating. Our brains crave stability and consistency. And these days, life is anything but that!
And so we wanted to share with you some wisdom that has been helping folks here at Creating the Future, from our friend and colleague Elaine Capes.
Future me knows how to do this.
Last year, Elaine was facing some serious health issues. She has told us that during her treatments, that single sentence helped her to navigate, to find the path.
And it's not surprising. When we know where we’re headed, we can create the path that will lead there – the conditions that must be in place in order to arrive at the destination. You’ve seen that in our classes, in our online discussions. We aim at what “good” would look like, and we find the path to get there.
That single expression – Future me knows how to do this – gives us the end point. Life is scary and uncertain right now, but “Future You” knows what to do.
So let’s use Catalytic Thinking to lead us to the wisdom and knowledge that Future You already knows
Try this:
If Future You knows how to get past the pain and accomplish something great, then the logical thing to do is to ask Future You how you got there!
And yes, you absolutely can do that. Because you have Catalytic Thinking to guide you, and that is precisely what those questions are all about.
Step 1: Imagine you are “Future You.” What are you proud that you were able to accomplish?
Hold up a mirror, and imagine the person you see staring back at you is Future You. That person has gotten through whatever you are going through now and landed on the other side. And that Future You is smiling!
What is Future You proud that you were able to accomplish? What is the best possible outcome you can imagine, once you have survived whatever you are going through right now?
Looking into that magic mirror, you can ask Future You why they are smiling so much!
- Perhaps you are dealing with the fear of losing funding. What has Future You accomplished about that? What does that success look like?
- Or perhaps you are worried about the impact of current policies on your community members. What has Future You accomplished alongside your community? What does that success look like in your community?
- Or you may be concerned about something more personal - perhaps a health scare, or job insecurity. What has Future You accomplished after healing from those scary circumstances? What does GOOD look like for Future You?
Whatever is feeling uncertain right now, sit quietly and picture “Future You” in that mirror. What are they proud to have accomplished?
Step 2: Ask Future You how you got there. What led to your success?
Staying with that image of the future, look backwards to today.
We do that all the time in real life, looking back to when we were 10 or 20 years younger. If we asked you how you got to where you are right now, you could easily tell us about the path that led you to today.
In this exercise, you’ll just do that from a different perspective – from the perspective of Future You, looking back at today.
From that perspective of imagined hindsight, let’s ask Future You how you got there! What was the path you created to get to that success? What were the pieces that Future You put into place, so that you could arrive at that future success?
- If Future You found funding sources that are less dependent on federal funding, what did you need to learn in order to make that shift? What did you need to know in order to take a more strength-based approach to funding?
- And what would it take for you to know those things and take action right now?
- If Future You found a way to lobby state and federal legislators to ensure the safety and security of your community members, what did you need to learn in order to do that work? What did you need to know and/or be assured of when it comes to legislative advocacy?
- And what would it take for you to know those things and take action right now?
- If Future You has healed and found a path to health and joy, what did you need to experience in order for that to be your reality? What did you need to learn? What did you need to understand?
- And what would it take for you to know and experience those things and take action right now?
As we step into uncertainty at any point in our lives – and especially in the current political environment - here is why there is so much power in the statement that “Future me knows how to do this.”
You cannot change the past.
You also cannot change the present,
because the present was created by the past.
Your only power is to create the future.
And when it comes to creating that future, Future You knows how you got there. In this time of uncertainty, it is time to ask Future You how you did it.
That is our super power – the power to create a future different from our past. It all starts by identifying the conditions you can begin to create right now, to lead to your success.
And that is what Catalytic Thinking is all about.
Resources to Further Your Practice:
- LEARN: Catalytic Thinking was meant for times like this – a path out of the darkness, into the future we want to see for our world. Take your first steps here…
- FUNDING: Is there really an alternative to fundraising scarcity? YES! This strength-based approach builds upon assets you already have (even if you don't think you have any assets!). Find your assets here…
- REST: If you’re feeling exhausted from all that is happening right now, here is some medicine for tired brains. Brain medicine starts here…
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