Speaker 1: 0:06

Greetings and welcome. Welcome back to the Sweet Spot where science meets soul. Today is Making Moves Monday, and I greet you with all of the energy, power and inspiration you need to have the best week of your life. To have the best week of your life. My name is Dr Derek Sweet. I'm a board-certified psychiatrist. My background is in sports, science and high performance.

Speaker 1: 0:36

This week we are going to be tackling a powerful topic, and that topic is facing the unknown. Look, as you know, all of evolution was about facing the unknown. Our ancestors had to face darkness, they had to face the wild and they had to face the uncertain and the unknown. And even though, fast forward, we no longer live in the wilderness and the wild, we no longer have to hunt for our food and we no longer have to technically brave the elements when we go out, why do we still face uncertainty and the unknown? It's amazing that these two forces are still prevalent and, as human beings, we have developed ways to handle the anxiety of facing the unknown and the uncertain the anxiety of facing the unknown and the uncertain.

Speaker 1: 1:45

As a psychiatrist, I sit all day long and talk to people who handle anxiety of the unknown by avoidance, just turning their back on it. Many people try to avoid uncertainty by looking the other way or denying it or acting as if it's not there, and while that provides some short-term relief, it often worsens the problem. Another way people try to handle anxiety, myself included, is we just try to control everything. We cling to our routines, we overplan, we try to predict and control every little aspect and every little outcome so that we can feel secure. Very common and it is another way to handle the anxiety of uncertainty and the unknown, and that's to explore and to take risks. To be curious, some people lean in to the uncertainty and see it as this opportunity, an opportunity to discover something, to grow, and you can see where I'm going with that. That might be the healthiest of all. Going with that, that might be the healthiest of all. So what are some steps that we can take to handle uncertainty? On Making Moves Monday what are some moves we can make?

Speaker 1: 3:13

The first thing we can do and what I tell clients is this reframe the unknown. That's the best thing you can do. You have a brain and this brain of yours is powerful. It can create all kinds of pathways for you if you allow it to. It could also keep you locked down in fear. So if you can reframe the unknown by just shifting your mindset from what if everything goes wrong here to what if this is an opportunity, what if everything can go right? Or how can I make this work for me and remind yourself that the uncertainty may be the first step towards a growth or innovative solution for you. That takes some conscious thinking to reframe the unknown, but if you can reframe it as full of potential, full of opportunity, who knows what could happen? That's the first thing you can do.

Speaker 1: 4:16

The second thing you can do with uncertainty is to start with what I call small certainties, things that you know, that are certain even in the uncertain situation. So you focus on what you do know or what you can control. Lots of times in the locker rooms we say control the controllables, right. So you want to establish a very simple daily routine that grounds you. I make my coffee this way, I heat it up this way, I put this foot in front of the other foot. You know I always read my Bible. I go for a run, I come back in, I do a few breaths. Whatever your routine is, start with those small uncertainties and don't give them up when you face uncertainty.

Speaker 1: 5:08

And then the third thing, which our ancestors were really good at, was to embrace curiosity. Ask questions instead of fearing the unknown. Be curious. What's around the corner? I wonder, what's going on there? Don't be defensive, don't be scared. Be curious. Try thinking hey, maybe there's something there that I could see or learn from, and it may even be better than I think. Kids are great at this, right. Sometimes you look at a kid and you wonder man, they're so fearless, they're so curious. So that's a strategy. What can I learn from this situation? What can I learn about it? What does it have to teach me?

Speaker 1: 5:51

And then, practicing some kind of mindfulness, grounding yourself in the present moment. So much of the anxiety and fear of the unknown is the what if? Monster, right? What if this is going to happen? What if that's going to happen and we find ourselves trapped in the future? That has never happened yet. So mindfulness, or the way we meditate in the moment, helps us pay attention to our breath, take control of this moment. I can breathe in and I can breathe out, and I can breathe in and I can breathe out. You know, when you control your breath, you do have a sense of being grounded. And while you are being grounded, you can think about your plan. Maybe you set a goal that's reasonable and allow yourself to adjust in that goal. Get a mentor, get a support person involved. Don't do it by yourself. So those are some steps that you can take this Monday to really help yourself, because it's not about running away from the fear of anxiety and the fear of uncertainty and the unknown. It's about acknowledging it Right.

Speaker 1: 7:01

Remember that everyone faces uncertainty. It could be a new job, it could be a big uncertainty. It could be a new job, it could be a big decision, it could be a life change. Who knows? There's always something that gets us a little anxious. All I'm asking you to do is just shift the mindset. With that.

Speaker 1: 7:15

Making Moves Monday, move today. Shift the mindset. What is one thing I can do right now that can get me to the next step? What's one step that I can take? Right? Because the fear always exaggerates things and once you start taking control of the small things, you'll be surprised at how amazing you will be at getting through the uncertainty. And one day you wake up and you look back and you say you know what. I actually handled that much better than I thought.

Speaker 1: 7:44

Okay, now this is Dr Sweet. Thank you so much for listening to me on Making Moves, monday, here as we tackle the uncertain and the unknown all week long. I hope that you found this helpful today, this idea of making just one move, just taking one step and recognizing that the fear is like a fog, that once you take a step and you move it forward, it's not so bad, it's not so paralyzing, you can get to the other side. Okay, I look forward to see you tomorrow. You know what tomorrow is right? That's take action tuesday, and please join me on linkedin or tiktok or maybe, if you follow Threads, you can see me there. I'm also on YouTube, take care.