The Only Thing That’s Certain is Uncertainty Itself
The Only Thing That’s Certain is Uncertainty Itself
Addressing uncertainty to limit anxiety.
Prompted is a newsletter delivering insights and prompts designed to help readers become a bit better each day.
The Only Thing That’s Certain is Uncertainty Itself
To be nearly sixty and still rebel at uncertainty is ridiculous, isn't it?
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anxiety is primarily a fear or uneasiness about the future stemming from uncertainty. To reduce anxiety we need to address uncertainty first.
We can combat uncertainty and anxiety with a three-step process: eliminating uncertainty that is within our control, developing foundational preparedness in key areas of life, and learning to accept the things we cannot control or prepare for.
We should always try to limit uncertainty as much as we can, but in every situation, there is a point where trying to eliminate more uncertainty is no more productive than a dog chasing its tail.
Once we’ve eliminated the uncertainty that’s within our control, we should turn our focus to developing proficiencies in key areas of life.
The more we can develop our knowledge, fitness, finances, careers, emotions, relationships, etc. the more adaptable and prepared we’ll be to deal with anything life throws at us. It’s much easier to be comfortable with uncertainty when we have a foundation of battle-tested experience to lean on.
This is one of the reasons I love doing difficult workouts. My everyday life isn’t very strenuous, but training hard and staying fit supplies me with the confidence and ability to handle anything that is thrown at me.
Random flooding while at my grandmother’s house? I can move 100lb sandbags wherever they need to go to protect her house. Friends want to do a half marathon next week? I’m in. Walking 10-15 miles a day on vacation. Not a concern. Car is in the shop? I can walk/run/bike anywhere I need to go.
Having a strong foundation of physical fitness makes it easier to deal with uncertainty because we know we have the tools to handle physically demanding situations with ease.
Foundational preparedness like this helps us cope with inevitable uncertainty, but there is no amount of preparedness or training that can eliminate uncertainty altogether.
After all, the only thing that is certain in life is uncertainty.
As Elanor Roosevelt said to her husband the night before D-Day, to rebel against uncertainty is ridiculous isn’t it?
Hours before the carefully planned attack on the shores of Normandy, there was nothing more President Roosevelt or anyone else could do to affect the outcome of the invasion.
They had eliminated the uncertainty that was reasonably within their control and the troops were trained and prepared to handle whatever came their way.
That’s all they could do in their situation and that’s all we can do in our own lives.
After controlling the controllables and developing foundational preparedness, there is nothing else we can do to limit uncertainty. Depending on the situation, there may be more or less uncertainty when we reach this point, but regardless of the circumstances, the only thing left to do is learn to accept it.
This is undoubtedly the most difficult part of the process. It will always feel like there is more we could or should have done. In many cases that may be true, but to live a reasonable and sustainable life, we can’t eliminate 100% of uncertainty in 100% of situations.
Like everything else we deal with on a daily basis, dealing with uncertainty is an exercise in finding the middle ground.
We can’t ignore it and stay ignorant of potential risks, but we can’t eliminate uncertainty entirely either.
The best we can do is control the controllables, develop foundational skills, and learn to accept whatever comes next. Over time we will be able to control more, improve our skills, and become more confident in the midst of uncertainty that used to be the basis for our anxiety.
Prompts
Which area of your life do you experience the most anxiety?
Are you best at eliminating uncertainty, developing skills, or accepting uncertainty?
Where can you focus on developing foundational preparedness in the next 6-12 months?
Deep Dive
A guide to finding possibility in the unknown.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next Sunday.
Kevin