Navigating Uncertainty and Change

“Change is constant.” “Things change.” “Go with the flow.” These seemingly helpful advisory quotes might be easy to offer when you are not experiencing unexpected upheaval. However, when you are amidst the chaos, navigating uncertainty and change can feel overwhelming – at the least! Uncertainty can bring up fear, anger, doubt, and other uncomfortable emotions. Not knowing what comes next, be it your next job or your next meal, is not an ideal situation. Yet, the disruption simultaneously allows you to work your uncertainty muscles to reimagine possibilities and navigate your next steps. 

What follows is an offering and brief overview of some tips and insights to apply during times of tumult and trepidation. I draw inspiration from what I have learned over twenty years of practice and research supporting leaders and teams to iterate and transform during complex change and conflict contexts on projects such as the Colombian peace process, peace-tech innovation in East Africa, and gun violence prevention in the USA. In my consulting practice, people often ask, “How do I…?” and I engage a design process alongside applied learning activities to sharpen their communication, facilitation, and conflict transformation skills. Through my doctoral research on organizational culture change as a Peace and Health Innovation Fellow at the University for Peace’s Global Center for Peace Innovation, emergent findings suggest the utility of a design framework focused on justice, equity, and healing to support navigating and adapting to unexpected change. It might not be easy, but it is possible. It might even be fun – and at least inspiring. Try it for yourself to see what works and leave the rest.

Top 3 Uncertainty Muscle Workout Tips
1) Breathwork – Take a breath to inhale and then slowly let it out with an exhale. It’s as simple as that. There are many breathing techniques out there that involve counting, holding the breath, and even incorporating humming. Make it easy for yourself. Breathe in and exhale slowly. Do it three times. Practice three times a day. Before each meal, when you take a bathroom break, or whenever it works for you. Making this a routine of breathwork practice when you are feeling okay helps you to be able to engage it when you’re feeling less than okay. Try it before you read the next tip – it takes 20 seconds. Need another reason to try it? This Everyday Health article cites several studies that show how breathwork can help reduce stress and anxiety, improve immunity, and more.

2) Pause before you pivot – Resting is an understatement of the century, or arguably the past 500+ years. One of the most useful skills I’ve learned in my wilderness first responder training is that when responding to a possible emergency, the first step is to pause. In other words, don’t just do something; stand there. Taking a moment to breathe and assess the situation can support your decision-making before you take the next step. It can be surprisingly helpful to consider if the situation is unsafe rather than the more likely scenario of it being uncomfortable and generating feelings of unease. The brief suspension is an opportunity to give your nervous system a break from reacting and allows time for responding. Rest is a form of resistance – check out the Nap Ministry to learn more. How can you do it? Ideally, take time away from screens and foster connection with other humans, animals, plants, etc. What else helps? Hydration, nourishment, and some music, dance, or movement practice. Turn on some tunes and shake, wiggle, or roll! The estimated time for this activity is 5 minutes, depending on how much fun you are having.

3) Improvise – Now that you have oxygenated your cells and sufficiently circulated your blood comes the time for action. I am an improvisation practitioner and regularly incorporate improv skills in my consulting practice and personal life to support capacity strengthening for critical reflection, engagement, and creativity. Improv helps to improve awareness and connection to shift power dynamics and work with complexity. With an improv mindset, mistakes are gifts, and uncertainty is NECESSARY to allow for a collaborative process where next steps and new ways of being can be imagined and cultivated. Be curious – What can you do with what you’ve been given? How is it a gift? For more info, check out Improvise Freely, one of my favorite improv books, and my tips for improv in conflict resolution and mediation practice.

Reimagining possibilities
“Change is…” How can you imagine finishing that sentence now? Being confronted with unexpected change can be a grief-inducing process. Loss can feel scary and hard. It is. Taking the time to feel and heal is essential. The unexpected also presents an opportunity to reimagine what is possible. Creative approaches to resolve conflict and navigate change require imagination, which is more accessible when we are feeling safe, comfortable, and connected. By sharing the above tips, I have outlined some key components to support you in strengthening your uncertainty muscles and navigating both planned and unanticipated change. Applying them can support transforming challenges into opportunities through simple breathwork, embodied rest practice, and an improvisation mindset.

This content was originally posted on the CDA Perspectives Blog in March '25 thanks to the CDA Learning Projects & Grace Boone.

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