Create through uncertainty

Looking outside your window at the world right now? Yeah, I see the trash fire too.

When everything feels chaotic and the ground keeps shifting beneath us, our instinct is to grip tighter. Wait for clarity. Postpone creating until things feel stable again.

But what if we've got it backwards?

I recently sat down with Vivianne Castillo—founder of Choose Courage, Inc.—and she completely reframed how I think about navigating uncertainty. Here are three takeaways that might shift something for you too.

1. Creativity Isn't the Reward for Stability—It's the Tool That Makes It

We tell ourselves: "Once things calm down, then I'll start that project. Once I feel stable, then I'll create."

But Vivianne flipped this on its head: "If I create through uncertainty, not after it, the act of making something gives me a foothold when everything else feels slippery."

Think about it. When has waiting for perfect conditions ever actually worked?

The act of creating—whether it's writing a sentence, recording a voice note, or sketching an idea in your notes app—gives you agency. It's not about producing something brilliant. It's about making something at all.

During one of the hardest seasons of her life, Vivianne stopped trying to produce something big or perfect. Instead, she focused on what she calls "micro acts of creation": scraps of ideas, conversation fragments, single sentences. Those scraps eventually became the foundation for larger projects.

Next time you're waiting for clarity before you start, try this instead: make one small thing today. A paragraph. A sketch. A voice memo. Let creation be the thing that steadies you, not the thing you wait to feel steady enough to do.

2. Hopelessness, Helplessness, and Powerlessness Are Different—and That Matters

When chaos hits, we often lump all our heavy feelings into one overwhelming pile. But Vivianne broke down an important distinction:

• Helplessness is about internal beliefs (like "I lack the willpower to change this")

• Powerlessness is about external systems you truly can't control

• Hopelessness couples with despair—it's the belief that nothing can change

Here's why this matters: Helplessness actually has autonomy in it. If it's about your internal beliefs, you can shift them. You can take action. But when we conflate helplessness with powerlessness, we give away agency we actually have.

Vivianne's antidote to hopelessness? Lean into things that spark creativity, joy, and wonder. Not as spiritual bypassing, but as an active discipline—a way to keep your capacity for hope alive.

She reminded me that the only reason we can recognize the darkness is because we still have the capacity to see that things could and should be different. That recognition itself is hope.

When you're feeling overwhelmed, pause and ask: Is this helplessness (internal belief I can change), powerlessness (external system I can't control), or hopelessness (despair about change being possible)? Naming it correctly helps you know what action to take.

3. Fortune Favors the Bold—So Practice Being Bolder

One of Vivianne's guiding principles right now is the Latin phrase Fortuna audaces iuvat—Fortune favors the bold.

But here's the thing: boldness doesn't mean recklessness. It means showing up authentically. Being more generous with your friends and family. Pursuing creativity unapologetically. Extending grace—to others and yourself.

In a world that often feels like it's closing in, boldness is the decision to keep creating, keep connecting, keep believing things can be different.

Vivianne also shared something that stuck with me: "Hope begins in the dark. And the only reason I'm able to recognize the dark is because there's still capacity to hope and see that things can be different."

That's not toxic positivity. That's the discipline of choosing to see possibility even when it's hard.

Ask yourself: How can I be bolder this week? In how I love my people? In how I pursue my creative work? In how I extend grace? Start there.

The Bottom Line

You don't need perfect conditions to create. You don't need everything to feel stable before you start.

Chaos loosens the ground enough for new ideas to break through. Uncertainty and creativity aren't enemies—they're partners in a dance.

So if you've been waiting for things to calm down before you begin? This is your permission slip to start anyway. Make something small. Lean into what sparks joy and wonder. Be bolder than feels comfortable.

The world needs what you're here to create.

Connect with Vivianne

• LinkedIn

• hello at choosecourageinc.com