When the Ground Shifts: Learning to Trust Yourself in Seasons of Uncertainty

A quiet path toward clarity during a season of uncertainty

There are seasons in life when the ground beneath us shifts, not dramatically, not all at once, but quietly enough that we begin to notice we’re standing differently than before.

What once felt familiar no longer fits. What once motivated us feels distant. What once defined us feels incomplete.

These moments don’t always arrive with clear instructions. Sometimes they follow a loss. Sometimes they follow a role change, burnout, caregiving, or a season of holding it all together for too long. And sometimes, they arrive simply because time and experience have changed us.

What they have in common is this: They interrupt our certainty and invite us inward.

Living Inside Uncertainty (Not Rushing Past It)

We often talk about change as something decisive and empowering.

We celebrate the "after": stories: the clarity, the confidence, the renewed sense of purpose. But few people talk honestly about the middle.

The middle is the space where you’re still functioning on the outside while questioning everything on the inside. Where you may feel grateful and unsettled at the same time. Where you’re doing what needs to be done, but wondering if it’s still aligned with who you are becoming.

I’ve lived in that space myself. There were seasons when nothing looked particularly “wrong” from the outside, I was showing up, responding, staying engaged, yet internally I felt unsteady. The way I made sense of myself, the way I understood what mattered, no longer fit the season I was in. That quiet disconnect was harder to name than any visible disruption.

This space can feel deeply uncomfortable.

And because our culture values momentum, certainty, and productivity, uncertainty is often treated as something to overcome quickly. Something to “figure out” so we can move on.

But uncertainty is not a failure of clarity. It is often a sign of growth.

As Brené Brown reminds us, vulnerability is not weakness; it’s the birthplace of courage and change. And uncertainty is one of the most vulnerable places we can inhabit.

When Identity Begins to Shift

Many life transitions are difficult not because of what’s changing externally, but because of what’s loosening internally.

We build our identities around roles and expectations:

• The career we committed to

• The relationships we’ve nurtured

• The version of ourselves others recognize and rely on

When something disrupts that structure, loss, exhaustion, transition, or even success that no longer satisfies, we’re left with quieter, deeper questions: Who am I now? What still feels true? What no longer does?

These questions can feel destabilizing, especially for those who are used to being capable, dependable, or strong for others. But identity was never meant to be static. It’s meant to evolve as we do.

Gretchen Rubin often speaks about the importance of self-knowledge, understanding how we’re actually wired instead of forcing ourselves into expectations that don’t fit. Transitions invite that kind of honesty. They gently strip away what’s performative and bring us back to what’s essential.

Listening Instead of Solving

There was a time in my life when I kept asking myself what I should do next, and growing more exhausted each time I asked the question. I was looking for clarity, but what I needed first was permission to stop pushing. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about moving forward. I cared so much that I was afraid to be still long enough to hear what was actually true.

What I’ve learned since is this: Some seasons aren’t meant to be solved. They’re meant to be listened to.

When we stop treating uncertainty as a problem and begin relating to it as information, something shifts. We move from self-criticism to curiosity. From urgency to discernment.

That shift doesn’t make everything easier—but it does make it more honest.

The Pressure to “Figure It Out”

One of the most exhausting parts of transition is the internal pressure to arrive somewhere quickly.

We ask ourselves: What’s my next move? Why don’t I feel more certain yet? What if I make the wrong decision?

But clarity doesn’t usually emerge through force. It emerges through presence.

Lori Deschene often writes about the quiet wisdom that becomes accessible when we stop resisting our experience and begin meeting it with compassion. When we allow ourselves to be where we are, without judgment, something softens.

And that softening creates space.

Space to notice patterns. Space to hear our own voice again. Space for insight to arrive naturally, rather than on demand.

Learning to Trust Yourself Again

Many people navigating uncertainty struggle less with a lack of options and more with a lack of trust in themselves.

Perhaps past decisions didn’t turn out as expected. Perhaps grief or disappointment has shaken your confidence. Perhaps you’ve spent so long prioritizing others that your own inner voice feels faint.

Rebuilding self-trust doesn’t happen overnight. It happens through small, consistent acts of listening and honoring what you hear. It looks like:

• Paying attention to what drains you, and what quietly restores you

• Allowing yourself to change your mind without shame

• Making choices based on values rather than external approvals

  
  

Self-trust grows when we keep the promises we make to ourselves, even the small ones.

The Role of Rest and Reflection in Times of Change

Rest is often misunderstood during seasons of transition.

It’s not avoidance. It’s not giving up. And it’s not a luxury.

Rest is a necessary condition for clarity.

When life shifts, our nervous system needs time to recalibrate. Grief, uncertainty, and prolonged stress take energy, often more than we realize. Without rest, clarity remains elusive.

Reflection doesn’t mean endlessly analyzing your life. It means gently asking: What is this season asking of me? What am I being invited to release? What matters most right now?

There have been times when the only thing I could do was trust that meaning would become clearer in time, even when I couldn’t yet see where the path was leading. That kind of trust doesn’t arrive all at once. It grows quietly, through patience and presence.

You don’t need all the answers. You only need enough awareness to take the next compassionate step.

You Don't Have to Do This Alone

One of the most persistent myths about personal growth is that it’s something we’re meant to do privately.

That asking for support means we’re weak. That needing guidance means we’ve failed. That we should already know what to do.

But meaningful change rarely happens in isolation.

Whether through trusted relationships, faith, therapy, coaching, or community, being witnessed in our uncertainty helps us remember that we are not broken, we are becoming.

Sometimes, the most courageous thing we can say is:  “I don’t know what’s next, but I don’t want to figure it out alone.”

Becoming Instead of Arriving

Walking alongside others in seasons of transition has only deepened what I’ve learned in my own life: that clarity rarely arrives when we demand it. It arrives when we feel safe enough to listen. That understanding has been shaped in moments of loss, waiting, and deep recalibration, and it’s why I hold this work with so much care.

If you find yourself in a season where the future feels unclear, where your old map no longer works, I want you to hear this:

You are not behind. You are not lost. You are not doing it wrong.

You are in the process of becoming. Becoming more honest. More aligned. More rooted in what matters most to you now.

This season may not offer immediate certainty, but it can offer something far more valuable: a deeper relationship with yourself.

And from that place, whatever comes next will be built on truth rather than fear.

If you’re navigating uncertainty, identity shifts, or a major life transition and would like support as you explore what’s next, I invite you to CONNECT with me. Sometimes clarity doesn’t come from pushing harder, but from being gently guided back to yourself.

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