In my last article in this series, I shared how uncertainty has a tendency to shrink us.
When our future feels unclear, our nervous systems often provide valuable information about what is and isn't aligned. Yet many of us have been conditioned to override that information in exchange for safety and stability.
Today, I want to share another lesson I have been learning during my transition following an unexpected layoff a few months ago:
The power of savoring.
Not just celebrating the big milestones.
Savoring the small moments.
The fleeting moments of calm amidst the storm.
The unexpected moments of joy.
The compliment.
The coffee.
The encouraging email.
The warm introduction.
The small win that reminds you that you are still moving forward, even when progress feels painfully slow.
For much of my life, I struggled with this.
I grew up believing that joy should be delayed.
That humility meant minimizing your accomplishments.
That giving was virtuous, but receiving was somehow self-indulgent.
That during difficult seasons, the only acceptable response was to keep your head down and work harder.
There was always another mountain to climb.
Another responsibility to carry.
Another problem to solve.
Savoring felt unnecessary at best and selfish at worst.
As a result, I became very good at pushing through life.
I became far less skilled at enjoying it.
This season has forced me to learn something different.
For the first time in my life, I am navigating a chapter where receiving is not optional.
It is necessary.
I have had to learn how to receive help.
- To receive encouragement.
- To receive introductions.
- To receive government resources.
- To receive support from friends, colleagues, and even strangers.
- To receive without immediately trying to repay the favor or prove my worth.
As a self-proclaimed strong independent woman, this has not come naturally.
Yet the more I allow myself to receive, the more I realize something profound:
Being supported is not weakness.
Being supported is part of being human.
And when I slow down long enough to savor these moments, something shifts.
The uncertainty doesn't disappear.
The questions about the future remain.
But the journey becomes far less painful.
I stop feeling as though I am carrying everything alone.
For the first time, I find myself appreciating what it feels like to be looked after.
That realization has been both uncomfortable and deeply healing.
In the P.I.V.O.T.™ framework, I talk about "Overcome the Suck"—the stage where we confront the fears, assumptions, and stories that keep us stuck.
For me, one of those stories has been the belief that accepting help somehow makes me weak.
This season is teaching me otherwise.
- It is teaching me to put down the oars occasionally.
- To let others row.
- To trust that support can arrive without strings attached.
- To savor the gifts that show up along the way.
Because perhaps navigating uncertainty isn't just about perseverance.
Perhaps it is also about receiving.
Receiving support.
Receiving kindness.
Receiving encouragement.
Receiving joy.
And allowing ourselves to fully experience those moments when they arrive.
That, too, is part of dancing with change.
Not fighting uncertainty.
Not pretending it doesn't hurt.
But moving with it in a way that creates less suffering, more connection, and greater agency along the way.
And perhaps that is what I am learning most in this season:
Not how to navigate uncertainty alone, but how to let myself be carried through parts of it.
This is Part 4 of my Navigating Uncertainty in Real Life series
