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“There is nothing certain but the uncertain” – Proverb
One of the major fears in our lives is the fear of the unknown. And the greatest fear is the fear of death. The ultimate unknown. We want to know so bad what’s going on. Yet, the fact is we don’t.
The question is, how can we accept uncertainty?
You might be thinking about changing something in your life like quitting your job, or some similar courageous act. But what is keeping you from acting is the uncertainty of what is going to happen afterward.
We all would like assurance that every one of our decisions will lead to exactly the outcome we desire. But most of the time we don’t know. And other times we don’t even know what we want the outcome to look like.
Matter of fact is that this how life feels to everyone. You do things and hope that this will lead to something good.
What if we could move beyond the fear of the unknown and accept and even get comfortable with uncertainty?
Most Things Are Uncertain
Here is something to consider: Most things are uncertain.
There is a lot more we don’t know than we do know. And the more we know, the more we know how little we know. This is true in each of our individual lives as there is probably no person around that knows everything that is known. But it is also true on a collective scale.
The more we discover the deeper the rabbit hole goes. One discovery can serve as the gateway to 100, or 1000, or way more discoveries.
Oh, and there is also the possibility that we have some base concept wrong that would invalidate previous discoveries.
If we’re completely honest, the basic assumptions on which all knowledge is built upon are not proven, like the existence of an external universe outside of your individual consciousness, for instance.
So even the “known” is uncertain.
My point is to accept uncertainty as part of your life, you must recognize that uncertainty is not some rare event that affects only your life.
We all experience it.
Uncertainty is part of the universe. Without uncertainty, there wouldn’t be discovery, options, and potentials.
Hence, if uncertainty is so common in the universe, there is no way uncertainty won’t show up in our individual lives.
“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.” – Donald Rumsfeld
Uncertainty is a Prerequisite for Breakthrough
Think about the times when you had a breakthrough moment.
The time when you had a sudden creative insight. The time when you had tried something new and it led you down a new and exciting path. Or the time when everything seemed to fall apart but suddenly fell into place perfectly.
What state were you in?
Chances are you were in a state of uncertainty. You didn’t know what to do next. You didn’t know what would happen. And you didn’t know how to solve this problem.
You see, uncertainty holds all potential.
Because you don’t know how to proceed there is a lot of space for creativity and new possibilities.
If you knew what comes next all the time you would think and behave in fixed and rigid ways. Never experiencing uncertainty would limit your perception, spontaneity, and creativity.
Whenever you are in a deep state of uncertainty accept and embrace it by reminding yourself that uncertainty is a prerequisite for breakthrough moments.
Develop Faith
By faith, I don’t necessarily mean religious faith.
The faith I’m talking about is faith in yourself and in life. And this is something most of us are lacking.
When things start to get tough, or we feel lost we start to doubt ourselves, others, the world, humanity, the universe, God, and so on.
But this is exactly where faith is needed the most.
Faith is powerful because it enables you to stay on the course even if the destination is uncertain.
To develop faith, first, acknowledge the feelings you have in the moment. It’s okay to lack faith. And even if you feel like your faith has increased there may come times when doubts start to creep in again.
And this is okay too.
The next step you can do is remember all the times where you were in doubt or fearful about the future. And then reflect on how these situations turned out.
Most of the time situations turn out just fine and often even better than expected.
It also helps to shift your attention from your narrow first-person perspective. Look at your situation from a greater meta-perspective and be aware that everything you are experiencing is part of your perfect path.
No matter how hopeless your situation might be the light is around every corner.
Faith enables you to see every situation as the perfect situation for you to be in right now.
“In the courageous standing of uncertainty, faith shows most visibly its dynamic character” – Paul Tillich
Reframe the Situation
When doubt and fear start to pour into our minds we often believe that we are heading for the worst-case scenario.
But what if the doubts and fears are actually a sign that we are heading for the best-case scenario?
Whatever the situation may be, you always have the freedom to interpret it in a way that serves you best.
You can accept and embrace uncertainty by telling yourself that every situation leads you closer to your desired outcome. No matter the situation. Even if you feel like you are messing up your future.
Make it a habit to use the fear of the unknown as a trigger. And then use that trigger as a reminder to reframe the situation.
You are on the right path, no doubt.
Worry is Preposterous
As Terence McKenna said so eloquently:
“Worry is preposterous.”
Uncertainty about what is going to happen is often accompanied by worries.
What if this and that happens? Or what if doesn’t happen? Or what if nothing happens?
Although self-reflective consciousness can be a blessing for many people it is a curse.
We worry about everything.
About what other people think of us, about our relationship, about food, about how we look, about our job, about money, about the state of the world, about life after death.
But what good has worry ever done to solve a problem?
The answer is nothing.
Worry is quite literally useless. At least in regards to its practicality and the emotional state it puts you in.
Reflect on this for some time. Meditate upon this. The deeper you internalize this the more will not worrying be the logical thing to do. And if you don’t worry you have accepted uncertainty.
Not Knowing Can Be Better Than Knowing
We live in a world that is more dominated by a scientific narrative than ever before. As a result, knowledge has become a God of sorts.
The more we know the better we are. In our minds, especially in the west, knowledge equals success, power, wealth, fame, and happiness. People pride themselves on their knowledge about a topic.
Knowing has become a virtue more important than compassion.
And because there is so much importance on knowing things people don’t want to accept uncertainty.
But often not knowing is better than knowing. And you can confirm this for yourselves. For instance, getting a present without knowing what it is beforehand is always a better experience.
Or you might have had the experience where your spouse said something like: “I have something important to discuss with you, but let’s talk about it at the end of the week.”
Great, now you have the whole week to think about what this important discussion might be about. People think they do you a favor by telling you this so you can “prepare.”
I would call this partial uncertainty because you know about the scenario beforehand but don’t know what it’s going to look like. And this can be harder than accepting complete uncertainty.
Because who actually likes to get their bad or good news in bits and pieces divided over a few days?
The beauty of realizing that uncertainty, or not knowing, can be better than knowing is that you’ll embrace uncertainty.
Not knowing is exciting.
Uncertainty forces you to be here right now because something unforeseen might happen at any moment. And unforeseen things happen all the time.
Shift Your Attention
Whenever you are stuck in the fear of uncertainty, shift your attention away from your thoughts.
Endless rumination won’t make uncertainty certain.
Come into your body. Feel the sensations and emotions arising as a result and sit with them. This is a basic mindfulness exercise but it has profound effects.
In the beginning, it might be difficult. Your monkey mind will try to think about the situation. And that’s okay that’s what the mind does.
The art is recognizing whenever your mind jumps aboard the train of thought. And then gently move your attention back into your body.
It will get easier as soon as you feel the benefits of this practice. Soon you’ll realize that your fear of uncertainty made room for peaceful acceptance.
△△△
You know you have accepted uncertainty when you no longer obsessively try to know and control everything.
“Overcome your uncertainties and free yourself from dwelling on sorrow. When you delight in existence, you will awaken, and become a guide to those in need, revealing the path to many.” – Buddha
Luka
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