Uncertainty is a Superpower

When Life Throws You Curveballs, Make Magic (and Find Perfect Parking Spots)

Photo by Vincentiu Solomon on Unsplash

You know that feeling when life throws you a curveball and everything feels up in the air? Most of us hold on for dear life, desperately trying to control what happens next. But what if I told you that this uncertainty – the very thing we fight against – might actually be one of our greatest gifts? What if being comfortable with uncertainty is really a superpower? I mean seriously, what would you try to accomplish, what vision for yourself would you create if you could just do what brings you the most joy and excitement without attachment to the outcome or fear of failure?

(And okay, full disclosure – my only real superpower is getting perfect parking spaces. No joke! My family and I call it "princess parking" and we have this whole ritual where everyone in the car harmonizes like we're suddenly a spontaneous acapella group, setting our intention to find that magical spot right in front. It works like a charm! The universe has a sense of humor, right? The ability to pick the winning lottery numbers? Nope! Or how about a real superpower, like super strength or flying? Uh-uh! Sometimes your spiritual gifts come wrapped in the most unexpected packages... like prime parking real estate.)

Let me share something that changed my whole perspective on this. In my Clark-Kent-day-job, I’m in corporate marketing and we put on conferences several times a year around the country. We often get volunteers, who help out and get a free conference pass. A few years ago, we had an amazing volunteer at one of our conferences. I had no idea who she was. She had just reached out to us and asked if we needed any help with our upcoming conference.

She helped me at the registration table, and while we sat there I got to know her a bit. She was this remarkable soul who traveled the world without a fixed address – living this sort of nomadic life. She often didn't even know where she'd sleep that night. But instead of anxiety, she radiated this incredible peace. Her secret? She said that she was lucky enough to be comfortable with uncertainty. Wow. Mind. Officially. Blown.

We're Addicted to Control

Let's be honest – we're all planning addicts to some degree. I know I am. I have made detailed vision boards (they were absolutely spectacular!), journaling incessantly about life plans, followed all the manifestation steps (former manic manifestor here - I don’t even try to manifest anything anymore - but that’s a whole other post), and diligently mapped out my trajectory. It's like trying to be the director of a movie that's already being filmed. We tell ourselves, "Once I achieve this... Once I have that... Then I'll be happy." I set all these external conditions not understanding that everything is already within me. Sound familiar?

Life has a beautiful way of being wonderfully, frustratingly uncontrollable. Think about your own journey for a moment. Remember that relationship that didn't go as planned? That career detour that seemed like a disaster? Sometimes those "mistakes", those “failures” turned out to be blessings in disguise! That broken heart was the necessary catalyst to allow your heart to truly open. Getting fired led you to getting a better job, or better yet, starting your own business that you truly love!

The Art of Purposeful Surrender

You know how kids approach a playground? They don't show up with a PowerPoint presentation of their planned fun trajectory. They don't stress about optimizing their swing-to-slide ratio or schedule their monkey bar time. They just burst through that gate with pure, unadulterated enthusiasm, ready to follow their own spark of joy!

That's what purposeful surrender feels like when we really get it. You're still bringing all your grown-up wisdom and experience – like knowing how to tie your shoes so you don't face-plant on the way to the swings, or understanding that maybe eating sand isn't the best life choice. But you're holding all that knowledge loosely, letting it serve you rather than constrain you.

When we surrender like this in our adult lives, we tap back into that playful wisdom. Instead of white-knuckling our way through life's uncertainty ("This is NOT how my five-year plan was supposed to go!"), we stay curious about all of the infinite potentialities.

It's about bringing your full, magnificent self to the playground of life – all your skills, dreams, and hard-won wisdom – while staying open to the possibility that today's adventure might look nothing like what you imagined.

The universe might just have some amazing plans in store that you never even thought to put on your schedule. And trust me, they're way more fun than any PowerPoint presentation you could have prepared.

This is what I like to call "dancing with uncertainty." It means:

• Setting intentions and most importantly taking inspired action without regard to outcome

• Trusting that life might have even better plans than you could have ever imagined

It has taken me a literal lifetime to even attempt to embrace this concept! (I’m a slow learner.) Uncertainty as a superpower? I mean, seriously, I’m midlifin’ this bitch, but I still ain’t quite there yet. I’m still working through a lot of fear and learning to trust and surrender. But that’s the journey, right? My intention here is to share my wisdom and experience up to this point and help you fast-track past all of the fear, self-doubt and attachment to certainty and outcome and allow yourself to flow with your own universal rhythm - and maybe even gain this wisdom in your 20’s or 30’s and not wait until life has beat you down to realize that there’s a better way.

Finding Freedom in the Unknown

When we finally loosen our kung fu grip on control, something magical happens. We become like water – fluid, adaptable, and powerful. We start noticing opportunities we were too rigid to see before. Setbacks become stepping stones rather than roadblocks. And most importantly, we find ourselves fully present in our lives rather than constantly struggling with how things "should" be.

Photo by freestocks on Unsplash

Journal Prompts: Making Uncertainty Your Superpower

I am a huge proponent of journaling. It’s become a sacred practice for me. It’s interesting how it has evolved through the years from hand writing in journals, to using online apps to voice memos which I then transcribe into these writings. But no matter the medium or format, journaling and writing has been a refuge for me. When I get things out of my head, and bring them into this reality through writing - those thoughts and ideas become spells and magic in my everyday life. Power and frequency resonates in words and voice.

So if you feel called to - find a quiet moment, light a candle, take a deep breath, set your intention and let's explore these questions together:

1. When did uncertainty lead to an unexpected blessing in your life?

2. What would become possible if you fully trusted life's unfolding?

3. Where in your life are you holding on too tightly? What might happen if you loosened your grip?

4. How does your body feel when you're trying to control things vs. when you're in flow?

5. What wisdom might your future self share about the uncertainty you're facing now?

Daily Mantras for Uncertainty

Here are some heart-whispers for your journey. Let them be companions when the path feels uncertain:

• “Trust, Accept, Surrender”

• "I trust in life's perfect unfolding"

• "Uncertainty holds infinite possibilities"

• "Life flows through me and for me"

Remember working with uncertainty is a practice, not a destination. Some days you'll flow like water, other days you'll have that death grip again – and that's perfectly okay. The journey isn't about perfection; it's about gradually building trust in life's mysterious and beautiful unfolding.

With endless love and a dash of parking lot magic, ✨

Malisa

Love you, bye…

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Ready to embrace the beautiful chaos of uncertainty and maybe even discover your own unexpected superpowers (parking-related or otherwise)? Join our community of spiritual adventurers as we explore the art of surrendering, share our messy-but-magical journeys, and learn to trust life's perfect unfolding – all while keeping it real and letting go of our need to control every little detail. Subscribe now to receive weekly love notes from my heart to yours, packed with journal prompts, mindset shifts, and permission to release those rigid five-year plans in favor of something way more exciting (I promise, the universe has better ideas anyway). ✨