What Do I Do Now? A 7-Step Process for Dealing with Change and Uncertainty

Our brains can go into overdrive when we face uncertainty, whether it’s in the moment with a challenging client or a general situation like the pandemic. Recent studies show that, the less information we have, the more irrational and erratic our decisions become. But we can take simple and practical steps to regroup, re-think, and re-act. This course will examine practical strategies to accomplish just that, with numerous application exercises to help you master new skills.  The 7-step process includes:

Step 1: Calming your fears

• Don’t believe everything you think.
• How to reframe situations to move beyond them.

Step 2: Embracing what you know

• Take stock of what you know and don’t know
• Assign a factor of importance to each item to craft a strategy.

Step 3: Focusing on what matters

• Some decisions are critical; others don’t matter very much.
• Apply strategies to properly balance all decision and make more informed choices.  

Step 4: Recognizing ‘good enough’ versus perfection

• Perfection always leads to a nagging sense of failure.
• Apply simple strategies to help you define and gain comfort with ‘good enough’

Step 5: Managing assumptions

• How our assumptions get in the way of finding workable solutions.
• Identify assumptions in a variety of scenarios.
• Practicing moving beyond those assumptions to implementing solutions.

Step 6: Visualizing beyond problems

• How positive thoughts quiet fear and focusing the brain’s attention.
• Apply visualization techniques to realign around positive actions and creative solutions.

Step 7: Practicing the art of non-resistance

• Resistance prolongs pain by amplifying the challenging emotions we are feeling.
• Practice acceptance strategies to move beyond resistance.