“There is no certainty; there is only adventure.” — Roberto Assagioli
A lack of certainty can stop us in our tracks.
If we don’t feel certain inside about what we want or what we need to do to get there, then we give up before we even begin.
But, luck for us, we can create a sense of certainty and develop it like a muscle.
The more we use it, the better we’ll get.
And, it’s a big deal–Certainty is the key to unlocking what’s holding us back.
In the book, MONEY Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom, Tony Robbins shares his insights on how Certainty helps us take the actions to achieve our dreams.
How Ideas Get Lodged in Your Head
When ideas are taking hold in your mind, there’s a battle between your conscious and subconscious mind. Your conscious mind might want something, but your subconscious mind might not believe you.
When there is this conflict, ideas stay out in limbo land and you’ll lack a sense of certainty. You won’t feel it in your bones.
“Imagine your brain divided into an upper half and a lower half; the upper half is the conscious mind, while the lower half is your subconscious. Ideas keep trying to lodge in your head, such as ‘I’m going to make ten million dollars!’ or ‘I’m going to be financially free by the time I’m forty!’ But your upper, conscious brain goes, ‘Screw you! There’s no way in hell that will happen!’ It quickly rejects the big idea and bounces it back out into space like a tennis ball.”
Lack of Certainty, Lack of Action
when you don’t feel a sense of certainty, you won’t take action. After all, why bother if it won’t work?
“Now, I doubt that you think you need $1 billion to fulfill your financial dreams. But I’d be willing to bet that the number you chose to feel financially secure or independent is pretty intimidating. Almost everybody makes that number bigger than it needs to be, because he or she doesn’t take the time to calculate what it really costs to live at different lifestyle levels. And that’s why so many never begin to work toward it. They talk a good game, get excited about, they tell people their big dream, but they never act on it. Why? Because psychologically they don’t have Certainty that they can do it.”
Without Certainty, We Default to Doing Nothing
When we don’t have a sense of certainty about the outcome or how we’ll get there, we stand still. We fall into analysis paralysis. Or we put things off. Or we do things half-heartedly.
“And Certainty is the first human need that influences our behavior or actions. Fact. If you’ve failed to act in your financial world, it’s partly because you’re uncertain, you’re unsure as to what is right or wrong and which approach will succeed or fail. Or you’re feeling overwhelmed by the complexity of the system that no one has taken the time to walk you through with clarity. With certainty, we default to doing nothing or at least procrastinating. We put off until tomorrow what we need to do today.”
Certainty Creates Confidence
When we decide on our outcome and we make a plan to get there, we increase our confidence. We also increase our clarity, as we figure out what specifically we want to achieve, and how we’ll really get there.
Certainty paves the way for use to take more action. Massive action. And massive action is how we make things happen.
“If you decide that you will do something, and start to plan towards it, you create confidence.
But if you resolve within your self the sense of absolute certainty that ‘I’m going to do this!’ and then you start to build a plan–something extraordinary happens. You begin to develop the certainty you can actually achieve it. And with newfound confidence, you suddenly see there is a way to get it done. You’ll find a role model who’s already achieving what you’re after, and you’ll take massive action. The goal seeps deep into your subconscious, and it goes to work to make your dream a reality. That’s when the magic happens.”
If you don’t’ know what it feels like to feel an absolute sense of certainty, then try to remember a time in your life when you did. Or, imagine what you would feel like if you did feel an absolute sense of certainty.
But to really develop your sense of certainty, make it a habit of finding models and reference examples that inspire you to what’s possible. And really dive into what they do that helps them achieve their amazing results.
In all of my experience, it’s never been magic, no matter how magical it appears.
If other people can do it, you can, too.
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Image by Raymond Brown.
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