Welcome the Unknown

By | August 7, 2026

[August 7, 2026]  Welcome the unknown. The unknown is and will always be both a teacher and a source of growth. Confront life’s challenges and uncertainties voluntarily rather than clinging to rigid security.  That is the road to being a better person, living your life to its fullest, and getting the most out of your life and those around you.

Know this: the unknown can shape you into what you might become; avoiding it leaves you brittle. This is the path of adventure, through competence and courage.

Jordan Peterson offers a clear view of how to live better. His lectures, captured in several videos, supply the ideas summarized and clarified here. He begins with an important Biblical verse:

“Now the LORD has said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee.” — Genesis 12:1 (KJV)

Each phrase carries a key message. To become better, we must act with humility, courage, and strength.

This is God’s command to Abram (Abraham) and, spiritually, to us. Leave your country and step into the unknown. You already know what you know, and that is not enough. Go where you have never been so you can establish yourself in the world. That is a call to adventure.

Grow up. Move away from the protection of family and claim independence. It is then that necessity becomes the spark that drives you beyond what you can presently imagine. In a sheltered setting, a gap often forms between foolishness and its consequences—lengthened by unearned security—so you never fully grow or learn. Leave dependency so that necessity can push you forward.

Something beyond each of us pulls us away from our father’s house and the comforts of childhood. Whatever name we give that pull, it remains. Ignore the thing that beckons you forward and you will pay a price you cannot yet imagine.

Go into a land that will be shown to you. Territories can be physical or abstract. When you set out to learn and master a discipline, you enter the unknown, a new land. The frontier stays always ahead, compelling the next step.

We see the world through stories, and one of them says that where we stand is not good enough. That is part of the human condition. To a degree it is healthy: if the present were sufficient, there would be nothing left to do.

Starting with little often means starting with more possibilities. We keep trying to move from an unbearable today toward a better tomorrow. Without that movement, life shrinks to threat and danger. Meaning arises in proportion to the effort of that journey.

What makes the journey worthwhile? Striving to carry the greatest responsibility you can bear. That is the highest adventure. None of us knows what we can do, what is possible, or what we might become.

One fact cannot be overlooked: willingness to sacrifice. Without it there is no real commitment. Abraham succeeds because he makes the proper sacrifices. The message is hopeful. We can accomplish far more than we expect if we are ready to give up what is most valuable when the right demand comes.

Welcome to the unknown.  It might be feared but that is the path to your fulfillment.

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Please read my books:

  1. “55 Rules for a Good Life,” on Amazon (link here).
  2. “Our Longest Year in Iraq,” on Amazon (link here).
Author: Douglas R. Satterfield

Hello. I provide one article every day. My writings are influenced by great thinkers such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Jung, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Jean Piaget, Erich Neumann, and Jordan Peterson, whose insight and brilliance have gotten millions worldwide to think about improving ourselves. Thank you for reading my blog.

2 thoughts on “Welcome the Unknown

  1. Valkerie

    This article by General Satterfield sure hits home by framing the unknown as both teacher and path to real growth. Voluntarily stepping into uncertainty builds the competence and courage that comfort never can. The Genesis 12:1 command to Abram still cuts clean: leave country, kindred, and father’s house if you want to become more than you are. Sheltered security only widens the gap between foolishness and its consequences. Necessity is the spark that drives us past what we can presently imagine. The frontier (whether physical or a new discipline) always stays ahead and demands the next step. Meaning rises in proportion to the weight of responsibility we are willing to carry. Without genuine sacrifice there is no real commitment, and Abraham shows what proper sacrifice looks like. We can accomplish far more than we expect once we stop clinging to what feels safest. Welcome the unknown; fear of it is simply the price of admission to a fuller life. Keep writing these clear calls to adventure.

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  2. Cowboy Bob 🤠

    🫡 Yikes! 👀 Gen. Satterfield is becoming one of those philosophers again, I think. 👍 In a way, for me anywho, this actually makes some sense; ha ha ha. ❤️ I’m loving it when he gives us one of his looks inside the psychology of the mind, especially as it applies to the military leadership angle. 🪖 Keep ‘em a coming our way, sir. 🤠

    Reply

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