March 2022 Newsletter | Navigating Uncertainty

Posted February 28, 2022

From a young age we are taught that, if we work hard enough, we can accomplish any goal. This can be true for many things in life: if we practice a skill, we tend to improve (at least up to a certain point); if we spend time learning about a topic, we become more knowledgeable; if we pay close attention and study, we will do well on an assignment or exam.

While they are excellent tools, practice, research, and close attention may not always guarantee the outcomes we want. At times we are simply faced with uncertain situations. Take, for example, a medical diagnosis: we can learn everything we can about the diagnosis, follow protocols for the very best evidence-based treatment, and still we cannot usually predict the outcome.

There are many situations in life where uncertainty is an unavoidable fact and it can be incredibly difficult for anyone to manage uncertainty, but perhaps especially so for those who are used to or crave being in control. However, it is possible to learn to navigate through the uncertainty that will naturally occur in our lives.

Fearing the unknown

Navigating uncertainty can be very challenging. Human beings are typically fearful of change that they do not choose or self-generate. This may be because we have experienced unexpected negative changes in the past and would like to avoid similar distressing experiences in the future. Even if we have not had such negative experiences before, it is our nature to expect potential danger in the unknown and to try to avoid it. However, when we utilize this mindset exclusively when presented with uncertainty, we often spend our time fruitlessly worrying about an outcome we only have so much control over. When presented with uncertainty, we have another option besides fear: we can choose to accept it. 

Choosing to accept uncertainty does not mean that we give up hope or do not act at all. Instead, by accepting that there is always some amount of uncertainty in our situation and that we cannot control every outcome, we allow ourselves to save the energy we would otherwise give up to unhelpful and excessive worry. 

Over the past two years, we have all had a crash course in living with uncertainty. From the start, no one really knew how Covid-19 would affect us, how it would impact our bodies or our livelihoods. We have only so much control over the virus; we can do our part by getting vaccinated, by wearing a mask when we are advised to, and by avoiding too much contact with others when necessary. And while early on we thought we could eventually eradicate the virus, we are coming to the conclusion that it will become endemic: it will become a part of our on-going reality in a similar way to the flu. As we know from our long experience with the flu, while we can predict that it will recur in certain places at certain times of the year, its severity from season to season is not something we can always predict or control. For individuals without compromised immune systems, the flu tends to be something we do not spend much time worrying about, despite its inherent uncertainty.

What are some techniques that can help us navigate uncertainty?

Consider where your energy will be best spent

With our medical diagnosis example, we saw that there are both helpful, actionable components of the situation (seeing expert medical professionals and adhering to the evidence-based treatment plan) and unhelpful, time-wasting components (worrying about the outcome). By focusing on the helpful components and choosing not to engage in the unhelpful components, you can allow yourself to not waste precious time and energy on things that only feed anxiety and do not otherwise serve you.

Try our useful tool, The Advantages and Disadvantages of Accepting Uncertainty, to help you assess whether a particular worry is worth your time.

Think about difficult experiences in the past that you have overcome

A new, uncertain situation seems scary because we often think we cannot possibly contend with it. There is a tendency to underestimate ourselves when it comes to something we have not yet experienced but if we take some time to recall past situations that were initially scary to us, but that we overcame, we can recognize that we are able to navigate through unknown situations. If you are hard-pressed to think of an individual situation, remember our shared experience of Covid and how over the past two years we have all learned to operate in this new reality. 

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the ability to focus on the present moment. Our brains constantly fight against Mindfulness, pushing us to think about an hour, two hours, or ten days from now, or to slip into the past. Our ability to recall all sorts of memories and to imagine into the future can be powerfully helpful tools but they can also lead us astray, making us dwell on past mistakes or worry unhelpfully about what’s to come. When it comes to uncertain situations, Mindfulness can help us navigate away from that unhelpful worry about the future. Practicing Mindfulness exercises and meditations can help you build strength in this area.

Try one of our therapist-guided audio meditations to help you focus on the present moment.

Choosing to accept uncertainty

Every moment, we choose what we give our attention to. By choosing to attend to our worries about uncertainty, we give up precious time we cannot get back. Instead, if we choose to accept some uncertainty in our lives, we free up that time for the things that we enjoy and allow ourselves to feel joy instead of fear. 

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Struggling with excessive worry? Learn how CBT can help with anxiety.