Embrace the Unknown – It's Where the Treasure Lies

Perspectives of a Visual Thinker

Iryna Molodecky – August 20, 2025

Lately, I have found myself stepping into uncertainty more often than feels comfortable. What I've noticed is that there are two ways of meeting the unknown: with fear and resistance, or with curiosity and openness.

Today, more than ever, we stand at a threshold between the comfort of the familiar and the mystery of what lies ahead. The known feels safe, but it often keeps us confined. The unknown, on the other hand, is where growth, creativity, and transformation become possible.

The “treasures” of life—new insights, opportunities, and even deeper self-understanding—are rarely found on familiar ground. Our identities, memories, and habits provide stability, but they can also trap us in repetitive patterns. As Dr. Joe Dispenza notes, the body and brain cling to these patterns, addicted to the emotions they produce. To step into the unknown is to loosen that grip, which can feel unsettling—yet it is precisely where new life begins.

We see this in Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey: every hero must leave the known world and cross into the unknown. It is there—in the wilderness, the cave, or the uncharted waters—that they find the treasure, undergo transformation, and return home renewed.

The Unknown as a Source of Growth

Creativity and Innovation:  Every breakthrough begins as uncertainty. Science, art, and philosophy all emerged from someone daring to step beyond the known.

Personal Transformation:  Life’s turning points—moving to a new place, beginning a relationship, facing inner fears—demand courage to leave old identities behind.

Resilience and Adaptability:  Each time we embrace the unknown, we grow stronger. What once felt threatening becomes part of our expanded capacity for life.

How to Embrace the Unknown?

• Cultivate Curiosity: Meet uncertainty with questions instead of conclusions.

• Shift Perspective: See the unknown as a teacher, not a threat.

• Take Incremental Risks: Each step into new territory builds confidence.

• Trust the Process: Growth rarely follows a predictable path.

To cling only to the known is to live within walls of safety but miss the horizons of possibility. The treasures of wisdom, love, creativity and freedom wait in the unexplored.

This Month’s Card: "Tip of the Iceberg"

The iceberg reminds us that most of reality lies beneath the surface. The visible tip represents the knowns: facts, familiar strategies, and past experiences. But the larger, hidden mass represents what we cannot immediately see—our assumptions, blind spots, unexplored possibilities, and unexpected insights.

Try this: 

1. Draw an iceberg shape with a wavy line near the top.

2. Above the line, write and/or draw everything you know about your current challenge.

3. Below the surface, add the hidden layers—assumptions, opposite perspectives, risky ideas, or surprising insights.

4. Stay with it. The deeper you dive, the more likely you are to discover treasure.

The iceberg teaches us that life is always more than it appears. The surface world of the known has its place, but the depths of the unknown hold the real abundance. By daring to dive below, we unlock wisdom, creativity, and transformation.

This tool is part of a larger Visual Toolkit for Creative Problem Solving—designed to help individuals and teams unlock fresh insight and direction. It’s now available on my website.

Coming Soon: Free Online Workshops

I’ll be offering five FREE online workshops on Visual Problem-Solving using the Visual Thinking Strategies Card Deck. These sessions are for educators and creatives ready to deepen their process and achieve results that feel aligned and meaningful. Stay tuned...

If you want to teach people a new way of thinking,don't bother trying to teach them.Instead give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking. Buckminster Fuller

Thank you for being on this journey with me. Let’s dare to dive deeper and discover our truest treasures.