This article was first published in The Clarity Journal, our WyeWorks newsletter on leadership, uncertainty, and the craft of self-management. If you’d like to receive new editions as they come out, you can subscribe below.
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After more than three years building Para masticar, a project that’s deeply personal to me, I’ve noticed one mental state that shows up more than any other.
It creates doubt. It triggers fear. It keeps my mind running long after the day is over.
It’s the same feeling an entrepreneur has when they risk their savings, or a leader who puts their reputation on the line to push for a cultural shift.
And the hardest part? Even without knowing what the future holds, something in me knows this state isn’t going anywhere.
It has a name: uncertainty.
Where Initiatives Begin
When a project comes from someone’s core, the relationship between the person and what they’re building becomes unlike anything else.
It’s what Peter Koenig describes as Source: the deep, personal connection that makes someone uniquely responsible for bringing a vision to life. No one tries to reinvent real estate, launch a direct-to-consumer food app, or write a novel from scratch unless something deep is pulling them forward: A need they can’t ignore.
The relationship is unique because it’s born from the creator’s inner world — their personality, interests, passions, contradictions. That’s what gives an initiative its shape and makes the bond unrepeatable.
And it’s unrepeatable because it only happens at one moment in a person’s life. A point where staying still feels worse than taking a risk. When that moment arrives, they move. They announce the idea. They send the email. They publish the story. And the project begins.
Para masticar was born this way. I needed something that brought together my interests, passions, and skills — something I’d choose to do even in my free time, not because I had to, but because it felt right.
That connection gave me the courage to do things I never imagined doing: publishing essays, recording videos, giving talks. The emotional bond to an initiative becomes a source of strength — but it also opens a direct path to uncertainty…
The Fog That Comes With Caring
Parents know this feeling well. When your first child is born, your world shifts. The bond brings joy and fuel for the hardest nights. But it also introduces a new, permanent kind of uncertainty.
Are they safe? Will they be okay? Am I doing this right?
That uncertainty stays. And the same thing happens with the projects we bring into the world.
Do people care about this?
Is this the right direction?
Should I keep writing, speaking, creating?
Every now and then, we hit a moment of clarity. The fog lifts. Things click.
Those moments matter. They energize us and keep us going. (It’s what I try to spark with these writings.)
But here’s the part we don’t like to admit: the fog always returns.
Uncertainty is part of the deal.
Learning to Walk With Uncertainty
You don’t need to be an entrepreneur, a change leader, or a parent to feel this. Life itself is an initiative, and each of us carries a quiet fear about whether we’re living the right story.
When we stop treating uncertainty as an opponent we need to conquer, and instead recognize it as someone who will walk beside us for the rest of our life, the relationship changes. If we’re going to be together anyway, we may as well get to know each other.
In doing so, we might notice that uncertainty carries information — about us and about the health of our initiatives. Sometimes it’s just pointing at truths we’d prefer not to face. Listening is uncomfortable at first, but it gets easier.
And eventually we may realize that uncertainty isn’t the price we pay for building something meaningful…
— Rodrigo
Clarity & Leadership at WyeWorks.
