“The job of an artist is always to deepen the mystery.”- Francis Bacon

The unknown can sometimes be unsettling and downright scary for many of us, spurring us into planning each and every detail, so we don’t have to experience this distress. 

I spent many years of my life, worrying about scary outcomes not realizing that they were just illusions in my mind. I would ruminate about what could go wrong and make plans and then back up plans to try to deal with these outcomes ahead of time. Without realizing it, I was essentially a control freak who was on some level expecting something bad to happen, sounds silly right?

In recent years I have really embraced the mystery and reframed it to be sort of the magic in our everyday lives. When you can see the unknown as fun and magical with lots of twists and turns, much like a novel you can’t put down you can experience more trust instead of fear. This also helps loosen the grip and need to fix, solve, and plan. 

When I became a coach (pre-pandemic) I traveled to several new cities not knowing the people or my surroundings and just really opened up and embraced all the mystery and possibility. I didn’t spend hours researching and worrying about where I would eat, who I would mingle with, or the exact experiences I would have. Instead I was just open with little expectation, other than to have fun. In doing so, I met so many interesting people, got invited to outings I could have never anticipated, and had the deepest conversations.

“The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.”

— Frank Herbert

From time to time I do have to remind myself to trust the mystery of the unknown because that is where the magic lives. Just like a juicy novel or movie, it's not as fun if we know each and every detail and especially the ending before we experience it, so what if we loosened the grip on needing to know all the details a bit more in our daily lives. 

I encourage you to stop and consider what is your relationship to the unknown/to mystery? Could you challenge yourself to go somewhere and just trust that you will get exactly what you need from the experience without worrying about what might go wrong? The mystery is filled with fertile possibility so trust it, instead of fearing it.

If you would like to embark on a coaching journey with me to let go of some anxiety and embrace more fun, I invite you to schedule a connection call with me here.

Have a great week everyone!

Mind Your Strength,

Melanie Shmois