Thriving in Uncertainty: 3 mindsets you need to train to succeed when everything around you is changing.

TUNE IN TO LEARN:  

The episode will help you learn to embrace change and uncertainty and to act and make decisions effectively in this new normal of accelerating change where old rules don't apply. 

You'll also learn how to not stress about it which will give you a lot more energy to tackle challenges and prevent burnout.  

This is a core mindset toolkit to be a leader in your life and navigate life's and career transitions with ease, joy and more success.  

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:00

Hi, guys, and welcome back to another episode of your Brains Coach podcast. My name is Angela Sharina, I'm your host, I'm your Brains Coach and also an executive coach at 360, who will help you to navigate your life by helping you to take better control of your thoughts, of your emotions, of your decisions and, most importantly, actions, so you could get out there and then start creating your life experience closer and closer and closer to the vision that you have for yourself, like your wildest aspirations and dreams. Believe it or not, you can have it all, as long as you are ready for the work that's needed to create the kind of self, the kind of identity, to change yourself so you become the person who can and will live your dreams. Today, guys, you're going to learn how to navigate the future, starting right now, and how it's fundamentally different from what we experienced before. You're going to learn a couple of core mindsets that you need to adapt. You absolutely have to adapt if you are to survive and thrive and succeed in 2025 and beyond.

Speaker 1 1:25

If you get stuck in the rut in thinking and making decisions and doing the way it was done before, then you're not going to succeed, you're going to get outdated and the future is going to outrun you and it's scary, but what can you do? And that's one of the core aspects of our mindset that we all need to adopt. The future is here and it's going to go as it's going to go, and there is very little you can do about that. So you can either accept it and act accordingly with the best skills that you have, accepting and changing your actions and your thinking and your decisions based on what is not how it used to be. It's like with pandemic. We used to think, oh, you know, and talk about how, when the world's going to get to normal, well, it never actually got to normal. The world changed and it's going to become more of a truce moving forward without pandemic. We're going to have rules and hierarchies and principles and how things worked before. We're going to have all of this changing all the time blowing up into our faces, and so the best we can do is stop being surprised by things changing quicker. And so today you're going to learn the mindset so that you absolutely need to have to navigate this uncertain, fast, ever-evolving future. And also I'm going to help you to eat better and live better using ChatGPT. I had a really good conversation with a client of mine who, as a part of our coaching, we are working also on her nutrition, her health habits, and we started talking about certain truths and then using ChatGPT to help us find answers. So then she can answer a lot of questions that she has or beliefs wrong beliefs that don't work for her, so she could figure it out much faster without my help. What a skill set we have, like this super assistant at our fingerprints. It even has three versions right, and we barely use it. We still behave like some sort of monkeys.

Speaker 1 3:48

And speaking of monkeys, so today's podcast episode. I want to start with monkeys. Did you know that there was research done showing that monkeys unlearn what worked before much faster? And the reason is I'm actually going to read to you from the website so the authors believed that might be because those with less available working memory, or basically with less capable brain, found the complex rule to be a cognitive strain and wanted to find a simpler alternative. So basically, as humans, we build up these complex rules about reality. This is how it works and this is how it works. This works, so I'm going to do it this way and that way, especially in complex arenas like businesses or solving complex issues in our society or in our lives. So we create these rules and we think that this is how it works. Well, it worked before and it might have been consistent before, but that might not be the truth for the future. That is changing so fast.

Speaker 1 4:55

And so what they found is that with less capable brains of monkeys, monkeys quit rules much faster because for them it's too complex. If there is an easier rule, they're always looking for that, and that's where being dumber quote unquote is actually more beneficial in the environment that changes so fast. Imagine like if you had problems with your memory and you would forget everything that happened to you the day before. So every time you would have to reinvent a new solution for the future. And that actually would be very beneficial if your future changed really fast and every day you were faced with a different reality, because every day you would create a new rule based on current circumstance, not on the past, but because we humans do have quite long memory and we do have a lot of brain's capacity, we create those complex rules about reality and how it used to be in the past, and then we start assuming that that is how the future gonna work, but guess what? It's no longer gonna work this way and the more we move into the future, the more technology accelerates the pace of information transferring and also how we are able to change our systems or how things are done, or upgrade our technologies or digitize certain things. Things will move faster and faster and so what worked tomorrow will no longer work, so what worked yesterday will no longer work in tomorrow, and that's where monkeys or people with less brain capacity actually have the advantage.

Speaker 1 6:39

I remember when I was listening to quite a few actually entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs, interviews of entrepreneurs. They would say well, you know, I didn't do that well in school, I didn't have this, you know good grades, but I turned out to be a pretty good entrepreneur because I just never assumed things and all this was looking for an easier way and all this was looking for in an easier way and that might be an advantage in 2025 and beyond. Yes, we kind of have to think about more complexity, but also we have to be absolutely have to be very agile and learn, relearn, unlearn better than monkeys, not worse than monkeys, which research shows most humans are. We just stick to our old ways, which, again, was beneficial before, until things started to change really fast. So that is a story I wanted to share with you, and just knowing that trait of a human brain will help you to look hopefully will help you to look into the future with more agility, and always questioning everything Like why do I think this is correct? Why do I assume this? And the most important skill guys learn from reality.

Speaker 1 8:02

If something isn't working like you thought it should work, then use ChatGPT to walk yourself through a set of questions like what am I missing here? Where could I be thinking or wrong or assuming things? Where things might have changed? Question yourself and other people all the time. It doesn't matter. You look at a person and they might have achieved a lot, but guess what? Things are changing and unfolding fast. Yes, there are some universal principles, but more often than not, allow the present, and data and small experiments lead you, not other people's experiences and opinions.

Speaker 1 8:48

Again form a hypothesis based on all the advice and all the things that you learned. But do realize that this is only a hypothesis and the faster things change, the more you need to adjust that hypothesis to succeed in the future. That brings me to an idea that was also brought to me by today's experience, how to navigate uncertain future. So today I went to hike a mountain and it was dark, it was before sunrise and it was also foggy. So how do you climb a mountain through the fog, in darkness? The answer is very simple, actually. Darkness. The answer is very simple, actually. One big rock at a time or one tiny step at a time.

Speaker 1 9:43

You can always make one step at a time, holding on to something, being on the ground, as long as you don't leap forward and don't jump into the darkness, into the abyss, which sometimes you might get lucky, but in the fog and in the dark you might also miss a lot of times, right? So how do you navigate uncertain future? It's kind of like moving through the fog one step at a time, never assuming things, but instead incrementally moving, putting theories in place and moving and holding onto something. And that's how you move into the uncertain future, and this is the skill of an entrepreneur or anyone in 2025. You don't make 10-year plans and expect it to work out. No, you pose a theory and then, one step at a time, you move forward, ready at any point to change the course of action, based on the data, on the feedback that you get from reality. So how do you move in 2025? How do you live and work and succeed and achieve One step at a time, never assuming things, but instead having a mindset of a scientist? This is my hypothesis, based on everything that I know so far, but I'm ready to change it when I get data and the data doesn't align with my hypothesis. So, move into the future like you would move through the fog.

Speaker 1 11:13

Another aspect of moving into the future and growing yourself, developing yourself, moving beyond what you've achieved so far. I was talking to a client of mine and she shared this fear. She said well, you know, I'm starting to work as a coach in this new arena and I realize how many things I don't know and it makes me feel inadequate and fearful. Am I really capable of doing this or do I need to learn more and get more certifications and do something different before I start working? And I shared with her that what I'm learning from top CEOs, what I'm learning from reading books about CEOs of 500 fortune companies, people who ran multi-billion dollar companies what I'm learning from them is they actually when they step into a new role?

Speaker 1 12:21

Let's say, you're a CEO and you move from one industry to another, from one company with thousands of employees to another company. You move into this role and, except for all this data from the statistical stuff, from business analytics, et cetera, you don't really understand how the company works. You don't really know anyone, you don't really feel the culture, you don't really know how everyone behaves and operates on your team, you don't know how communication is set up. Until you are a CEO there, you would often that's what I read, for example, in the latest book by McKinsey, the Journey of Leadership a CEO would come into the company and they would often have no idea how the industry works like producing some technology to improve logistics of moving heavy machinery from one side of the world to another, and they don't really know how this works. So the first thing they start doing is figuring out who knows more about this, who they can learn from so they have more in-depth knowledge. So they step into the role not knowing.

Speaker 1 13:31

And if you are on a path of growth, of development, of taking on more and more challenges, this is your path, path of not knowing and learning it as you go. And that's truth not just at the beginning of your journey. That is also truth when you are a CEO with a couple of decades of experience and you're stepping into a new role in a new company, sometimes in a new industry that you have no idea how everything works there. But you have great leadership skills and you need to figure out how to grow numbers and sometimes make the company thrive again and succeed in maybe going through some crisis. That's what leaders do they step into the unknown and they learn as they go. So, not knowing while growing, you're expanding in this area where you haven't been before. It's kind of like being on a hike that you've never done before. Every step you take it's a new step. Every bit of unfolding scenery it's something new, and you might need skills that you don't have yet and you'll learn them.

Speaker 1 14:46

That's what life also going to be in 2025 and beyond, where you're going to be, and not just you. Everyone is going to be going through this journey of upskilling, changing their job definition, changing the skills that they are responsible for or areas of responsibility at their job, staying at the same job. You will have to reinvent yourself and the skills that you use all the time. You have to be better than a monkey. You have to learn the skill of not knowing, and saying yes to the task and saying I'm going to figure it out because I am a human being with quite a complex brain that has its unique features that doesn't allow us to always get unstuck from the rut. That doesn't allow us to always get unstuck from the rut but also, at the same time, we are the most adaptable and learning-able creatures in the entire world, right, but we gotta make peace with the idea that what we knew before not gonna work moving into the future, and that normal never gonna come back. There's always going to be new, normal, evolving normal, not exactly as the past, with some resemblance here and there. And that also brings me to the next mindset that will help you to not burn out, to not stress out, to preserve your mental health and well-being while going through all of these changes and challenges. And learning, unlearning, relearning.

Speaker 1 16:23

And I want to read to you from a book 80-20 Daily your day-by-day guide to happier, healthier welfare and more successful living, using the Successful Living, using the 80-20 Principle, 80-20 Principle, pareto Principle if you don't know what it is, please look it up but it's how to maximize the joy, success and results in your life. So we go to extraordinary lengths to make our lives more comfortable and to remove life's difficulties. This is all to the good. We quell infant mortality, conquer hunger and some diseases, extend lifespans and increase enjoyment. Yet once you fall into the trap of believing that difficulties and stress can be entirely removed, for example by money or relationships, you get yourself up for a dilemma. Only by expecting difficulties and not being faced by them can you be happy. Only by releasing life's insecurities can you become secure. Do you truly understand and accept that life is difficult and that this is good?

Speaker 1 17:41

So this passage from the book the 80-20 by Richard Koch 80-20 Daily talks about how, when you expect difficulties, when you expect uncertainties, when you expect things not working out and having to learn, relearn, unlearn you're going to get this lightness about that and you're going to be light on your feet and agile. You know, like this trail runner and image comes to my mind because all this ready to change direction and up, and if there is some rock moving and wobbling underneath his or her feet, they're ready to leap forward and step to a steady ground. And that's how you want to behave. Never really sure if they're all going to be steady under your feet so you don't put all of your weight on it, you just press it and if it moves, you move on Light. Keep it light. Don't expect life to be the same. Be a better monkey and expect challenges and difficulties. Expect things, not always work your way at all and expect yourself to figure it out as you go. And that's how you preserve your lightness of mind, your mental health and well-being and smile on your face while going through all these difficulties, challenges and adjustments and not knowing exactly what you're doing, but doing it anyway.

Speaker 1 19:10

And an extra tip here on nutrition nutrition specifically, but also lifestyle and health. You know, today I talked to my client what was it two days ago? And we were talking about nutrition and how it seems to be so complicated. You got to eat those proteins and essential fats and vitamins and minerals and you also got to get your calories in check so you don't overeat all the time and get fat and get all kinds of diseases right. So, yes, there is this complexity that we now see, but then there is also this tools that we can use to eliminate a lot of this complexity or to get a better understanding of how to work with it so we succeed with our health, fitness, weight loss goals Like chat GPT.

Speaker 1 20:03

Did you know that you can ask chat GPT like this is my diet? And you can write up everything that you eat in your day, nothing else, just write down what you eat exactly. And then you say, well, you know I need, this is my goal. Maybe your goal is to lose weight or maintain weight. Maybe your goal is to build up muscles or have good health or energy. So you put in that into chat GPT, what you eat. And then you ask based on current understanding of balanced eating, balanced nutrition and I'm a female 37 years old and this is, I don't know my weight or I have this state of health and diseases, if you have them and you put that all in chat GPT and ask based on our understanding of balanced nutrition, what would you suggest I change in my nutrition? And then it would give you the answer.

Speaker 1 21:01

Today I asked ChatGPT. Let me go to nutrition, health and weight loss. That's the chat that I used today. Nutrition, health and weight loss. That's the chat that I used today. So I asked ChatGPT how can someone use ChatGPT to improve their nutrition for health or weight loss? And it gave me all this advice personalized meal planning, nutritional guidance and education, tracking and motivation, weight loss and portion control, supplementing functional foods. And then it asked me would you like a simple meal plan or specific advice tailored to your needs? So I asked him can you give me advice on this point you made? Get advice on ordering healthy meals at restaurant. And here we go. It gave me a seven point plan really good plan.

Speaker 1 21:48

Scan the menu with a strategy. Look for grilled, baked, roasted or steamed option instead of fried or creamy dishes. Be smart with portions. Restaurants often serve huge portions, so ask for half a portion or share a meal. Choose appetizers or side dishes for a smaller, more balanced meal. And on and on and on. So you can ask as much detail as possible. You can ask for specific recipes, you can ask about different foods, like how much protein does this food have, if I need to increase my protein or omega-3s or this, or what protein powder I should take based on health recommendations, what I should pay attention to. You can ask all these questions and get really, really good, damn good answers.

Speaker 1 22:31

So if you have a goal, if you're serious about that yes, there is complexity, but also you have this super machine, super brain that wins over the best chess players at your fingerprints that can tell you how to do in your life situation, what to do. It will calculate the most amazing math and even bring pictures of simple meals and recipes from the web. There is no excuse to not know how to do a thing and it even will advise you on things like emotional regulation to prevent overeating, or how to reduce my cravings for snackings or sugary foods, etc. And it will bring you all this well-researched strategy. So the pitch of today for nutrition and health is that if you don't know something, the answer is at your fingerprints, and a really good answer, very detailed one, taking into consideration your data, your eating, your health history, your biological data like your gender and your age, and what you're trying to achieve, etc. So there is no excuse of not having a better strategy for anything you're trying to do and moving forward, and moving forward.

Speaker 1 23:52

I think it's going to be soon considered to be a literacy to ask questions with answers to which you can easily ask chat GPT about. Why would you waste someone's thinking on a thing that can be easily learned with artificial intelligence? And also it will help you to navigate the uncertain future you can ask like based on the technological development and everything that you know from the past on your best predictions, what would you recommend for me to take? What kind of actions would you recommend me to take in my business or in my relationships or in my health? You can ask all of that and get pretty good damn answer and, yes, it's not going to be a perfect one, but it's going to be a pretty good for a hypothesis that then you can test and get the results. You can even ask chat, gpt how would you test what you just told me? So I make sure that it's actually working. You can ask all kinds of questions, right, and this is how you navigate the uncertain future.

Speaker 1 25:04

Number one skill is don't assume. Let me actually open up my newsletter that I wrote today, which I wrote about these skills to navigate uncertain future in 2025 and beyond. I could have titled it Don't Be a Human, be a Monkey. But the key skills learn to walk in the fog, meaning never assuming what's in front of you. You don't know. So take smaller bets, smaller steps and, one step at a time, progress forward. Let go of outdated strategies, even if they once worked. Be a better monkey. Respect the past, but don't let it dictate your future. Let it help you with hypothesis, but don't assume that that's how it's going to play out.

Speaker 1 25:59

Small experiments, data, incremental steps forward, feeling the path literally as you go versus assuming it's there. Learn to like the words maybe for now versus yeah, I'm 100% sure, like I'm not even sure what you can be 100% sure of. And the world is not going back to normal. The future is here and it's ever evolving, accelerating and rewriting the rules every day. So, in order to succeed and navigate this uncertain future, just understand this idea of most of the things changing, sometimes slightly, sometimes a lot. Take smaller bets, take smaller steps. Never assume things. Use data to verify, don't trust and don't just again assume things. And also accept the fact that you're going to be in the unknown land more and more often, navigating kind of like this unknown terrain, being an explorer, more than someone who just follows a map, a guidebook, right, an explorer of the unknown land, charting the territory with a new map. That's how we can succeed navigating the unfolding, ever-evolving and ever-changing future, just like you would walk in the fog, in the dark.

Speaker 1 27:36

Hope this helps, guys. Just wanted to make sure that you have peace, being in the space of uncertainty, of not knowing. That is the new normal that you need to figure out how to navigate, deal with, live in, achieve and succeed in. And if you're working on your fitness and nutrition and health goal, there is an amazing machine behind your computer artificial intelligence that can tell you exactly what you need to do as a next step to make your goals real. If you're serious about that, ask it and you'll get all the answers.

Speaker 1 28:17

Have an amazing weekend ahead, or a weekday whenever you're listening to this podcast and navigate the future as it's unfolding in front of you. If you like this podcast, please do share it with at least one other person who might need to find some peace. Like this podcast, please do share it with at least one other person who might need to find some peace in this uncertainty. Please do share. That's the only way we can spread this podcast to more ears and learn how to keep our sanity, mental well-being in the uncertain world Rate review. That also helps to spread the news about our podcast. And till next time, one step at a time, step in the fold.