The current economic landscape looks dismal and challenging, marked by millions of layoffs, dwindling investments, and untold personal and professional uncertainty.

It’s enough to send any sane person into a state of fear and panic, isn’t it?

But fear and panic don’t lead to progress and opportunity.

The world is changing, perhaps faster than any of us would like. Yet our personal success and happiness rely on our ability to adapt to changes, instead of worrying about changes beyond our control. If we look at life through this perspective we can learn to dance gracefully on shifting sands by unleashing our creativity and connecting to our inner rhythm.

Wallflower or Dancer Extraordinaire?

Each day we dance – whether with partners in a corporate/business dance, in our shared cadence with family and friends, and even in solitary footsteps. While we respond to life’s tempo, we constantly seek to stay balanced with each delicate move.

Erich Fromm, psychoanalyst and humanistic philosopher, said, “Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” What could be more uncertain than trying to balance our separate dances on today’s landscape of shifting sands?

I hear my own inner voice asking, “Are you crazy? It isn’t possible to stay in rhythm when the landscape is constantly changing. I am only comfortable with my feet firmly planted on familiar, solid ground, where I can see the road ahead.”

Unfortunately, few of us have the luxury of listening to our inner voice, and, as scary as it may seem, we all must put our creative juices to work and start mastering this “dance on shifting sands.”

How? By discovering our inner rhythm, where our values and creativity reside.

Finding Your Rhythm

Our inner rhythm is who we are in the world and the “what” that guides us around the dance floor of life – whether moving to an ever-changing fugue of uncertainty or to a steady, smooth waltz.

Changing course and identifying the right path to follow in difficult times take risk, courage and an internal compass. Our inner rhythm can provide the strength to stand solidly in a place of creativity and power, making it easier to accomplish our goals.

To find this balance, we must let go of old, awkward and out-of-sync moves that keep us stuck because they feel comfortable and safe. Once we let go of those clumsy, obsolete steps, we are free to learn new movements that allow us to experience life to the fullest. Creating change, like learning to dance, can be challenging, takes practice, and rarely happens as quickly as we would like.

Moving Through Change with Grace

Is your inner rhythm moving in concert with your outer world, or is it out of sync because you’re scrambling to find the next steps?

Find your rhythm by exploring new ways of facing your biggest fear or concern, asking yourself, “What is at stake? How can I turn this challenge into an opportunity, and who do I want to become to make this happen?”

Do you seek to become bolder, a risk-taker who lets go of old beliefs that have kept you stuck?
     ·    If so, where do you need to stand to gain a new perspective and adjust your thinking?
     ·    What is the cost of remaining planted where you are?
     ·    Finally, what do you want to achieve at the end of your journey?

Give your creativity permission to play. Learn to hear your own “inner rhythm” – whether you’re maneuvering everyday challenges or tap-dancing through life transitions. Listen to your cadence when you are scared, but face your fear by taking risks.

As your confidence builds, you’ll begin to glide effortlessly across the dance floor of your life with comfort and grace, even in uncertain times.

Get Moving

Will you remain a wallflower in your own life’s dance, waiting for an invitation because you are too afraid you’ll lose your balance?

Or will you become a dancer extraordinaire, willing to step onto the stage, confident your inner rhythm will lead your way?

Step forward and start learning the art of dancing on shifting sands.