One force that’s ever-present in any form of creative work is uncertainty. The reality is that you will never know – really know – what’s right.
Is this good enough?
Is it finished?
Is it the right strategy?
How should I spend my time/focus/energy today?
Which idea should I run with?
How can I sell this to my manager?
Uncertainty is an uncooperative dance partner. You have to move with it – in concert, drawing from it, following its lead at times, but always with an eye on your next move – in order to do your best work. The worst thing you can do is allow uncertainty to paralyze you into inaction. (I had a good conversation with Jonathan Fields about this.)
In the face of uncertainty, pursue clarity. Do you know what you’re really trying to do? Have you firmed up your objectives? Do you really understand the problem? When dealing with uncertainty about some things, seek clarity in the things you can know. Additionally, if you lead a team, your job is to pursue increasing levels of clarity in the face of increasing levels of uncertainty. Your team needs to know what you expect of them, even if you’re not certain it’s the right thing.
Get real about the stakes. When facing uncertainty, you might start fearing “monsters in the closet”. Your fear of the unknown spirals out of control, creates artificial stakes, and causes you to freeze. Spend some time grounding yourself in the true stakes rather than allowing your imagination to go wild.
Stay attuned to your intuition. When things get messy, it’s tempting to ignore that small, quiet voice in your head out of fear that it might lead you into even more uncertainty. However, that’s the worst thing you can do. Pay attention to the places your mind naturally goes. It’s wired to resolve dissonance and identify patterns, and could be providing you with a path through the uncertainty.
You will never rid yourself of uncertainty. It’s a part of the game. When the sand is shifting beneath your feet, try to find some solid ground. Seek clarity. You’ll often find that simply getting clear relieves some of the pressure and illuminates your next steps.
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Fear of uncertainty seems to be the front line of my creative process with every new project/album/blog post I start. I’ve resorted to keeping Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art on me at all times for a swift kick when I find myself letting the fear of the unknown bury me in resistance. I like that you compare uncertainty to an uncooperative dance partner. It will always be there to torment me while pushing me to take risks with my art.
What you said about uncertainly is timeless and goes well beyond the creative fields – we are always faced with a degree of uncertainly, and sometimes we have to make decisions without having all the cards facing up.
For me, starting with a clear objective helps to set the heading to get through along with calculating risks and rewards and as you said learning to trust your intuition all help to get through the fog.
Before I start a painting, I often have a vision of how I want it to look when finished. In the middle of the process when things get messy, the vision helps me make decisions that advance my vision – while always keeping an eye out for accidents that can be learned from and used.