Ed and Phil sit down today to discuss how uncertainty has affected their lives, and the tools we can use to get through it. Ed talks specifically about his struggle after the Tokyo 2020 delay, whilst Phil lists the tools him and Ed have used to help get them through uncertain times.
Show Notes
The hosts history with uncertainty
- Ed’s thoughts about the Tokyo 2020 delay and how it impacted his career. He was ready to go in for one last hurrah for 2020 and had already been spending 18 months preparing for it, so it was really hard to deal with the ambiguity of it getting pushed back. He couldn’t keep up the momentum, and it ultimately led to his retirement.
- Phil had a similar experience with Covid. He had a whole business plan at the start of 2020 which was completely thrown off course when Covid hit. He had to completely change routes.
How do people respond to uncertainty?
- Ed goes into his mancave and hides. He plays video games, as he finds it hard to do even small tasks. Phil proposes that this might be due to the fact he has a great analytical mind, and unfortunately when he goes through hard times it all becomes too much and he shuts it out. Other people can do this by burying themselves in work. It helps in some ways as it helps Ed recharge his batteries, but he needs to be careful to not stay down there too long as it won’t get him out of the situation.
- Some people thrive under uncertainty. They have a creative mind that works well under pressure, and they can even enjoy ambiguity in their lives.
So this begs the question: How do you deal with uncertainty?
- Approach it purposely. Assess the damages and make plans for how you are going to deal with it. Phil uses a journal for this purpose; write down all the things on his mind and make a list of what he can control and do, and then, most importantly, prioritise them.
- Being present helps you experience and acknowledge the problem and make practical steps to get out of it.
- Have good people around you that you can use as a sounding board. People who understand you and you can trust.
- Learning more and educating yourself. It helps us develop ourselves and see that growth is possible.
- Understand yourself and others. It’s important to understand how you respond to uncertainty, as that way you can notice when you are struggling quickly and make the changes to get out of it.
- Getting consistent, constructive feedback. Phil mentions that most people don’t get anywhere near as much feedback as Ed got, who would get it multiple times a day. Most people only get feedback from their bosses one a year, if that, which creates a lot of uncertainty and pressure, as they simply don’t know how well they are doing.
- Reframing. Reframing simply means looking at the situation you are in a second time, looking at what you can learn from it and what opportunities it may open up. Phil helped Ed reframe his thinking towards his retirement once Tokyo was canceled by showing him what opportunities it presented. This reframing may be what turns post-traumatic stress into post-traumatic growth.
- Keeping perspective; seeing how the problems you have are actually quite small in the grand scheme of things. You don’t do this to invalidate your emotions, but rather to give yourself more space to process them. You can eventually take your learnings to help other people.
- Adversity builds resilience. The more times you deal with uncertainty and adversity, the more you learn about yourselves and the more resilience you have. Whenever you are going through a hard time, you are getting stronger.
References:
What is Pursuit Line Podcast?
The Pursuit Line Podcast talks about all things performance. Olympic Gold-medalist Ed Clancy and Ex-military Performance Coach Phil Kelly join heads with other elite performers to get insights into what it takes to be the best. Motivating yet ever humbling; Ed and Phil teach us how to achieve a more balanced, fulfilling version of success.