My worst grades in school were in Spanish. Foreign languages are not my thing, but when I married into the military, I quickly became fluent in speaking Acronym. "VUCA" was a term coined by the U.S. military in the 1990s. After the Berlin Wall crumbled, things were Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. Characteristics that describe the post-Cold War world are strikingly similar to those that depict what we’re experiencing today.
Volatile
The pandemic is starting to become an afterthought for many people, but the impact of COVID is far from over. We are only starting to truly see and experience the second- and third-order effects of the last two years. We're living in the wake of chaos. People act in extreme, erratic ways in desperate conditions. Everything gets scrambled and amplified when life is turned upside down. The pandemic impacted every dimension of life: physical wellbeing, mental health, money, relationships, work. There can't not be reactive shifts as a result—it's physics.
Uncertain
We like to know what's waiting for us, but sometimes the most accurate forecast is "you would never have guessed." Historian Will Durant explained, "Logic is an invention of man and may be ignored by the universe." One may think we would appreciate this by now, but the stickiest lesson of history is how quickly humans forget. Sooner than later we’ll be side-swiped by another cataclysmic event. It will catch us off guard because we will still be busy Monday morning quarterbacking the pandemic. Too often, we attempt to innoculate against the next threat with hindsight preparations that could only protect us from the last one. This does nothing to help with readiness. Instead, it’s a poor use of resources that creates further vulnerability.
Complex
Before the pandemic, most people didn't fully appreciate the complexity of our world. We didn't follow all of the threads that connect countless aspects of everyday existence. This invisible web became painfully apparent when we stopped receiving Amazon packages in two days, couldn’t find cans of Diet Coke on the shelf, and struggled to buy lumber.
The world is logistically complex, but it's psychologically complicated, too. The last two years have been a time of reckoning. Stripped of our defense of busyness, we were forced to slow down and step back. Lockdown forced reflective space to take stock of what we were doing and why. As the pace of life has quickened once again, some individuals have quickly reverted to old behaviors or patterns. Others have chosen to draw a line in the sand and say, "I'm not going back."
Ambiguous
In a state of heightened emotion, people unconsciously conserve emotional bandwidth by looking at things in all-or-nothing extremes. Holding nuance requires a lot of energy. We default to black-and-white thinking to tolerate living in gray ambiguity. Decision-making and calculating risk in VUCA environments is challenging when nothing is clear-cut or guaranteed. Our only option is to attempt to take the next best step with incomplete, imperfect information.
VUCA environments are anxiety-provoking. Anxiety is a natural, adaptive response when faced with a threat. It keeps us alive, but our brains and bodies weren't designed to operate in overdrive indefinitely. We need a break. If one is not granted, bodies and minds take what they need without permission. When you spend a prolonged period of time in a VUCA environment, your amygdala is bound to be exhausted. And yet, we must press forward.
We need to be able to survive a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous world in perpetuity. Impermanence is the state of nature. Major crises resulting in global upheaval occur about once a decade. Let's stop being so surprised when they happen and do a better job of bracing for impact instead. VUCA described the environment following the collapse of Soviet Union, and it depicted life after 9/11 too. The acronym aptly summed up the 2008 financial crisis and the recession that followed. The term was painfully on-brand for the Coronavirus pandemic. We can't predict what's next, but it's safe to bet that it won't be easy. Life will be forever full of unanswerable questions. To respond skillfully in a VUCA world, we must respond with compassion, purpose, agility, and agency.
Compassion
Extend grace—to yourself and everyone around you. Assume positive intention a majority of the time. Humans regress under stress. In the moments when you aren't showing up as your best self, forgive fast, move forward, and do better next time. Don't fixate, judge, and preach when someone is being a jerk. You're unlikely to change them, so reinvest your energy elsewhere. Suspend judgment and extend the same gracious understanding you'd want if someone overheard you yelling at your kids behind closed doors. Single moments in time don't define who we are.
Anchor to Purpose
Instead of reeling about unanswerable questions or looking for someone to blame, walk your attention to how you can make a difference. Truth is always stranger than fiction. People will continue to do absurd things. Let them. Don't let yourself get distracted. It's impossible to predict what tomorrow has waiting for you. The path forward will always remain, to a certain extent, unclear. Every single day you have a new opportunity to show up with laser focus and have a positive impact. Stay centered on your "why" because today is all you've got. Use it to do something that matters.
Agility
We like to have the "right" responses handed to us. Many people wish someone would tell them precisely what to do and say to achieve the outcome they want. Instead of being concerned about having all the answers in advance, develop trust that you can adapt amid evolving circumstances. Instead of reaching for someone else's instructions, develop skills that will allow you to respond to challenge resiliently with creativity and ingenuity. Make sure you can function autonomously when necessary. Learn to problem solve and respond to what is right in front of you, not just what you're conjuring up in your imagination. Build confidence by turning into your discomfort and seeking out opportunities to stretch yourself.
Agency
You don't control the stock market or what side of bed Putin wakes up on any given morning, so get clear about what you can tactically do each day. Don't get caught in a ruminative mind trap about things outside of your grasp. This kind of mental snag will only deplete energy and tank your motivation. Grab hold of your choices and be intentional with your actions.
Living in a VUCA world isn't always easy, but environments that test us are the only ones that leave us stronger. During trials, don't add suffering to your pain. Discomfort is impermanent and your feelings won’t last forever. When things seem hard, it's not an excuse to tap out. You've developed an impressive track record the last two years that you can do hard things. Keep doing them. Slowly, and then suddenly, you'll realize someday in the future, you're moving with a lot less friction.
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