What does it mean to Have a Great Tolerance for the Unknown?
Confidence. Now there is a word that immediately makes an impression. At times, we all possess confidence, and if we’re perfectly honest, there are plenty of other times when we lack it. However, there is one key ingredient that helps us to build confidence: preparation.
Have you ever noticed that some people leap where others pause? Do those who pause lack talent? I don’t think so. I believe it all rolls back to confidence and preparation. It’s an interesting and ironic twist, but even though confidence is created out of preparation, many fail to do what is required to fully and continually prepare themselves to address the issues of the day, see the requirements of tomorrow, and capture their dreams. The difference between the person who leaps and the one who pauses is that one is confident in their preparations. The confident person is free to execute, even when intentionally creating discomfort by challenging their comfort zones. This journey to discomfort creates new strengths.
One of my favorite quotes comes from Robert H. Schuller. It is “Spectacular results are always proceeded by unspectacular preparation.” To me, preparation isn’t just how we execute tasks before a project begins—it’s also how we prepare ourselves. On the playing field of life, you must hunger and thirst to grow your talents—physical, mental, spiritual—to the best of your capabilities. You must possess a drive and willingness to practice, to toil, to try, and to chance. And, even if there is no one to watch or cheer you on, you must take responsibility for yourself without fail, for this is the person who understands that iron is hardened by heat and grows stronger with each forging. They are prepared in a way that permits their confidence to flow freely, which, in turn, allows them to march boldly forward toward the goal.
One thing confidence does for us as we journey to create new strengths is that we are in not a state of assessing our current comfort zone in favor of pursuing next-stage strengths; this is referred to as a growth mindset. This is how living gets done. To incubate a dream and then take steps to work at it while shedding the past self and habits, the explorer extends ever further from the shores of past comfort, favoring instead the exhilaration for what lies ahead.
When one is prepared to leave one’s comfort zone, one’s tolerance for the unknown is hardened.
This is one of the Twelve Attributes of Servant Leaders, as developed by Michael Brooks and used within the Strategic Enterprise ProgramTM.
