Uncertainty! Limbo! Ugh!!! These are two things that I hate. I like being in control. I like knowing what is coming my way. I want to prepare. I want to get in the right mind set. I want to be ready. I cannot do any of that when nothing but uncertainty looms before me.
Can you relate? Have you ever felt stuck in limbo or had to deal with uncertainty? Maybe while waiting to find out about a job or professional opportunity, waiting on some medical information, or even waiting to see how a love interest or significant other responds to you. It sucks right???
I most recently experienced uncertainty just last week as I awaited some medical information from my doctor. Nothing life threatening (no need to worry) but possible life altering. I wanted to know the outcome immediately. Bu that is not how it works. The uncertainty left me stressed. Will the info be good or bad? Should I take time off work in case I don’t like what the doctor has to say when she calls in the afternoon? I don’t like being emotional at the day job. Ugh.. My stomach was in knots. I was extra tired. I was not sleeping well and having unsettling dreams. Clearly, I don’t handle uncertainty well. You would think trying to conceive this year would have helped me to manage limbo better. I mean every single two week wait between possible conception and time for a pregnancy test is nothing but limbo and uncertainty. Apparently it didn’t. Or maybe it did and I would have been in even worse shape last week.
One particular morning while still trying to figure this health thing out with the doctor I decided to go to work. I did not want to get up. I just wanted to pull the covers up and go to sleep and stay asleep until I could wake up to some definite answers. I did not do that. Instead I started talking myself into getting up. The thought that got me going was “Just focus on the things that you can control right now. What are you going to wear to work? What are you going to have for breakfast? Just focus on what you can control?” Have you ever talked to yourself like that?
A while back I wrote a post on things to focus on when life is out of control. Apparently that same advice works for when you are stuck in limbo and dealing with uncertainty. I guess uncertainty is one of the ways life can feel out of control.
When was the last time you were stuck in limbo and dealing with uncertainty? How did you get through it? Did you focus on things that were within your control or did you find another technique helpful?
I don't have any advice. I just want to send you a big hug through the internet
I definitely think the land of uncertainty can drive us mad. Keep focusing on the positive and the tangible
My answer for everything is to take a nap. It's really not the ideal thing but my body shuts down and I have to just stop and escape into a nap. I always feel better afterwards.
Just pray honey! Sometimes when you are uncertain its a distraction that breed negativity…pray about whatever troubles you and ask for peace in your patience.
I have suffer from anxiety so the waiting game and i do not mix. Its very hard to manage some situations. I know your feelings.
OMGoodness I hate the waiting game. In one right now for something I really want to happen. I've had to convince myself to ignore it. If it happens it happens. Making me crazy!
Being in limbo is the worst. I tend to think the worst and then make the situation worse than it needs to be!
I tend to freak out when I don't know something. I hate waiting for answers. It stays on my mind forever until I get answers. I need to get learn techniques to chill out when I'm in limbo.
I always love reading what you have to say, I think we have similar mindsets and that is what always draws me to read what you have to write. Keep on chugging forward, be optimistic. Life is good!
I think a ot of us are like this. We like to know how to plan for things that are coming. I will keep you in my thoughts
Playing the waiting game stinks! I have had to talk myself into handling the things I could control also, though I admit, I have been guilty of staying in bed all day at times too, when it feels just too overwhelming to deal.
I tend to be a control freak and get anxious when a situation is not within my control. I think it's important to remember that life is not always happy and roses but it is how you handle those tough times that truly make you strong.
I am an eternal optimist, so I tend not to worry about most things. I drive my husband nuts! Waiting and uncertainty tend to cause him to be sleepless and half of the time I think he'll give himself an ulcer from his worry!
When I am waiting or in limbo and do not have control of a situation, I simply pray. Praying helps me be at peace and then I can focus on the things I can control.
Uncertainty is one of the worst feelings. It can be so stressful because you don't know what direction to take.
Waiting is the worst thing in the world. I don't care if I'm waiting in line or waiting for test results, waiting is like being mired in molasses.
I have been waiting for some test results from the doctor since last week. I hate waiting.
One day I felt an overwhelming feeling of uncertainty then I realized with God's help that only he knows the future. If I stick close to him he will protect my future. Jeremiah 29:11 says that he has a purpose and future for me. Psalm 91 and 121 tell me he is my shield and will no suffer my foot to be moved. Then I thought of very specific times in the past when God helped me. If he did it before he can do it again.