The best advice I have ever been given is the extremely vague advice ‘be comfortable with uncertainty.’  This was given to me from a radiologist professor when reading x-rays, MRI’s, etc.  But I have taken that with me with all major life events that created uncertainty. 

So how do I create comfort when there is chaos?  I tap into the creative side of the brain.  Much of my days are filled with clinical decisions, reading labs, and making many black or white decisions. 

As people are in panic mode around you, don’t be afraid to dream and create the vision of what you want your life to look like after these events are over.  Values and vision dictate decisions.  

What am I doing?  I’m doing personal vision casting…and writing them down in a journal.  There are 5 categories I’m concentrating on:
1. Family
2. Travel
3. Physical
4. Experience
5. Influence

For example, my wife came up with the idea of doing a trip with each individual child when he turns 10 years old.  When one of our boys turns 10, we want to let him choose a destination within the US.  Just mom, dad, and him.  The rest stay home to fend for themselves.  

My 8 year old is leaning towards a trip to either Charlotte, NC or Kansas City to either go to a Carolina Panthers football game or a Chiefs game. 

I’ve implanted the idea of also taking each boy, when he graduates high school, to go sky diving.  I’ve never done it so I can check that off my vision list but also combine with a family member.  I also have about 10 years to work up the nerve to do it too.

Back in 2012 during wildfires here in Colorado, both my home and office were in the evacuation zone.  Instead of worrying if we would lose everything, I started planning what it would look like to totally start over.  That kept the panic away as everything I wanted to control wasn’t in my control. 

If there’s one thing to really destroy your immune system, it’s being in a constant state of worry and fear.  The opposite of fear is not courage.  The opposite of fear is conformity.  Don’t conform to the panic that this around us now.  Conform to keep people safe but set yourself up for success by dreaming, vision casting, and investing in yourself when others are doing the exact opposite.  

That’s my 2 cents for what it’s worth.