Losing Your Grip? Good News - You’re Normal
Ever had one of those weeks where everything that’s supposed to work… doesn’t?
You’re doing your part—staying calm, powering through, checking all the boxes. And still, things keep spiraling sideways like a shopping cart with a wonky wheel.
That feeling of losing your footing? It’s not just you. It’s what life looks like in a VUCA world—volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. And spoiler: control is usually the first thing to disappear.
When Control Slips, So Can Your Sense of Self
Let’s be real - this isn’t just about missed flights or botched timelines.
For high-functioning, get-it-done types, losing control can hit deeper. Because for many of us, control isn’t just a preference - it’s tied to our identity. When we can’t influence outcomes like we used to, it doesn’t just feel inconvenient. It feels like failure.
And that’s what makes VUCA environments so draining. It’s not just external chaos. It’s the internal shake-up that comes with it.
Your Brain Isn’t Broken. It’s Just Playing an Old Tape.
When the world gets weird, your brain kicks into survival mode. That’s biology doing its job - trying to keep you safe.
But here’s the kicker: those ancient instincts don’t always play well in modern chaos.
Instead of helping, they push us into unhelpful patterns - overthinking, over-controlling, or freezing up. The harder we chase certainty, the more we exhaust ourselves trying to find it.
So, What Actually Helps? Centering > Controlling
Trying to grip tighter only makes things more slippery. The smarter move is to recenter -to anchor yourself when the world won’t.
Try these as a starting point:
⭐ Lead with principles, not predictions. You can’t always see what’s coming, but you can decide who you want to be when it does.
⭐ Build in anchor rituals. A breath before the chaos. A five-minute journal check-in. Something small, but stabilizing.
⭐ Name what’s real. “This is uncertain, and I don’t love it” is more grounding than pretending you’re fine.
⭐ Ask better questions. Swap “How do I fix this?” for “How do I want to show up in this?”
Try This: Your One-Move Reset
Each morning this week, ask:
“What’s one thing I can do today that aligns with who I want to be, even if everything else is out of my hands?”
It might be…
Responding instead of reacting in a tense meeting
Choosing done over perfect
Nourishing your body when your brain’s fried
It’s not control in the traditional sense. But it is agency. And that’s powerful.
Final Thought: You Don’t Need to Be the Hero of Every Moment
If you’re feeling frayed, you’re not failing. You’re human.
VUCA doesn’t just tangle up our plans - it pokes at our sense of worth. But you were never meant to hold it all together.
You were meant to find your center, even when the map gets messy and move forward from there.
Because control? That’s fragile. But alignment? That’s durable.
Reflection Prompt for the Week:
Where are you gripping too hard and what might shift if you grounded yourself instead?