Building Muscles to Walk into the Unknown
Have you ever stopped to imagine what it was like for our ancestors, discovering new worlds? Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time not just thinking about it, but trying to feel it — trying to put myself in their shoes. What must those experiences have been like? Stepping into a new landscape, one they had to navigate to survive, with the hope that they might even thrive. There’s something profound in imagining how little they may have known — neither about the dangers nor the opportunities fully revealed.
I think about the many reasons that might have driven people to take those steps: from the love of adventure, to tragedy, to climate change causing them to move. Regardless of the reason, each journey into the unknown required courage. Taking one step, and then another, and then another — until somehow, out of the uncertainty, a new “reality” began to unfold.
So often, when I read about this, people focus on our ancestors’ ability to reason and conceptualize, attributing survival to the power of the mind. While there is truth in that, I think focusing too much on intellectual and knowledge is a trap. Yes, our cognitive abilities help us make sense of the world, but understanding alone is never enough. Knowing that rivers have strong currents, that you should swim with them rather than against them, doesn’t help much when you’re actually in the water — when your muscles don’t know how to paddle. Our bodies, our muscles, our hard built experiential habits, our capacity to notice — these are just as if not more essential to navigating that river successfully. Survival is not just about what we understand, but about the deeper intelligence housed in our muscles, in our senses, in our ability to notice the world around us, and the skills we hone within ourselves.
When I think about what it must have taken to navigate those unknown landscapes, I imagine that one of the most critical skills to perfect was the ability to conduct oneself well in the face of uncertainty; the ability to observe, to learn from what’s actually happening around you, to build resilience both socially and physically. This kind of learning comes as much from mistakes as from success, and I’m sure it took a great deal of courage — then, just as it does now.
In my work with organizations, especially during times of deep change, I often feel like we are all embarking on a journey into the unknown. Our environments — both physical and social — are shifting rapidly, and my role is not just to help people think through solutions, but to help them build their muscles to navigate this unknown, not just understanding what “should” happen, but becoming skilled in working with what is.
These skills are not sexy, but they are essential:
- The skill of quieting the mind.
- The skill of noticing — truly seeing what is around you — without jumping to conclusions or mistaking observation for understanding.
- The skill of staying curious, even when you think you understand.
- The skill of holding still — of not rushing forward when you aren’t yet sure where to go.
- The skill of deep listening — to your inner voice, to your body, to others around you, and to nature itself.
- The skill of taking steps even when you feel it is a good move, but you don’t know what the result will be.
I’ve come to believe that giving ourselves time to explore and build these muscles — balancing our intellect with the wisdom of our bodies and senses — is essential.
As I walk with my clients into the unknown, I trust that strengthening these abilities will open doors to new ways of being, creating a deeper sense of balance and discovery. And I hold a quiet hope that these small steps we take in our little corner of the world will send positive ripples outward, into the larger world around us.
