Uncertainty can be scary – but it can also be a tremendous opportunity for growth
For many of us the concept of uncertainty and not knowing what comes next is scary and uncomfortable that often causes anxiety and stress. We love to plan, think in scenarios, and best have an answer already for any situation we might face. In fact, we try to avoid uncertainty at all costs and try to put as much certainty in our lives through insurances and other means of protections as possible. The problem, having a plan is often keeping us from seeing other opportunities opening right in front of us.
Humans are generally lovers of certainty and consistency. We don’t like rapid or drastic change as it makes us step into an unknown future where we often feel a lack of control. We like to be in control, we like making plans and spreadsheets to avoid losing control at all costs and to have the illusion that we always keep on top of things to avoid unforeseen circumstances. The issue is life does always work this way. Things happen and we cannot foresee and plan everything that comes our way.
Of course, some planning in life is well and good. However, we always need to understand that we can only minimize certain risks and uncertainties coming our way which is useful and sensible to do, especially when those things affect loved ones or others in addition to ourselves. However, all we do here is create a bubble of safety and we always must see that this bubble can pop, and uncertainty can still hit us at any time. If we therefore try to plan everything in such detail to avoid uncertainty at any cost, it will result in more stress and anxiety. The only option to avoid this, therefore, is to change our mindset how we handle uncertainty and accept the fact that we simply cannot plan everything. We need to embrace uncertainty and see it as something that can bring about opportunities for something new, rather than always lead to disaster.
Especially for those organized and structured people of us, this can be very hard. Uncertainty can however help us reflect on what is important to us. It can help us escape out of our daily routine that we are so used to and force us to open new perspectives and ideas that we might have never considered in the first place. Uncertainty and forced change coming our way can open new perspectives and can lead to opportunities coming our way that we never considered possible. Change and uncertainty can therefore also be perceived as something positive, and mind opening to explore and try new things that we otherwise would shy away from as we are too used to and comfortable with things as they were before and never saw a need for change.
Planning is therefore good and right, but the key is there to be a balance between minimizing some risk and uncertainty we can easily avoid, while at the same time to stay open for new challenges to come our way. We need a change in perception and mindset here, from uncertainty and the unknown to only results in fear, desire, and negative feelings towards seeing it as a chance for positive change and going on a new journey for ourselves that we might have never expected. The outcomes might be better and more useful than we think, and in the end, we might even be thankful for the uncertain times we faced and what came out of them. Try it – it might lead to living a happier and more fulfilled life, and for you to lose the fear of uncertainty and the unknow for good.
