Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote that "You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star." Granted, the German philosopher did suffer a massive mental breakdown towards the end of his life. But Nietzsche has been lauded as one of the most influential of all modern thinkers.
He believed that instead of denying or running away, we should embrace the chaos. That is, after all, when growth and transformation occur. As the Zen Habits site puts it, "Learn to embrace uncertainty, and be open to change. Learn to let go of control, and surf the ever-changing wave. Let unpredictability rule, let randomness be the force of our life, let spontaneity be the rule."
Zen Habits founder Leo Babauta believes that chaos and creativity are one and the same. "Creative work doesn't happen by plan and control. Sure, some of the world's creative geniuses were detail freaks, but they didn't make a plan to come up with a creative genius idea – it came to them because they were open to random thoughts, explored paths no one else had thought to look down, took an idea they saw from someone else and twisted it in a new way," he writes. "Creativity comes from a place of chaos, and it's only when you open yourself to this lack of control that you can come up with your best creativity."
Babauta isn't the only one who lives by this philosophy. Seasoned project manager Tara Miller says she thrives in chaos. Despite having a job that brings order to the table.
"I'd argue that chaos is where greatness, innovation, and magic happen if you can push through the discomfort," Miller wrote for PM World Journal. "You often see the best in humans come out when they're forced to push their limits. For me, the alternative to chaos is complacency."
"Self discovery and self realizations happen during moments of confusion, clutter and consistent complexity when you're feeling lost, headed for trouble," adds best-selling author Bob Miglani. He wrote an entire book on the topic, called "Embrace The Chaos."
Miglani says when you embrace the chaos and move forward in life, you get crystal clear as to what makes you more fulfilled, more satisfied and ultimately, more happy. "That's when your mind gets really clear as to what's the most important thing you want out of life. Because the mind cannot focus on all of those things, your mind suddenly awakens and hones in," he explains.
The author says that sometimes a big challenge or adversity that seems insurmountable at the time is exactly what we need. It jolts us to recognize what we really want, he adds. "And for some people, it becomes less about the money…and more about the relationships, the family, the kids and good health."
Whether we like it or not, chaos forces us to make difficult choices and take bold steps forward in life, says Miglani. "Once you actually embrace uncertainty and go ahead with a life goal or a relationship, you begin to change, discovering new things about yourself."
Miller, meanwhile, makes reference to "the edge of chaos." She says, in her line of work, it's a "sweet spot" where you have enough structure to guide your team and manage your resources but enough flexibility to pivot when necessary and adapt to changing circumstances.
"Chaos gives me, as a project manager, confidence and motivation," writes Miller, adding that her favorite part of a project is when no one else can see the way through, but she's already starting to see the pieces come together.
Babauta believes that embracing uncertainty is the ultimate freedom. "You don't know what you're going to do today, nor what will come up. You are locked into nothing. You are completely free to do anything, to pursue any creative pursuit, to try new things as they come up, to be open to meeting new people," he wrote on the Zen Habits blog. "It can be scary at first, but if you smile when you think of not knowing, you'll soon realize it's a joyous thing."
