Embracing the unknown can be anxiety inducing and outright scary. Not knowing is the culprit of a ruminating mind. Your imagination begins to run wild, and your thoughts fill up with a million what if’s. The worst-case scenario often dominates your thinking with imagined outcomes and catastrophizing as you grapple with uncertainty.
The unknown shows up in your life in many ways. You may experience something unexpected that pops up in your day. Your attention may be called to a crisis. You may start a new chapter in your life that requires you to uplevel. Or life may throw you a curve ball in which you have to reset and start all over again. Caught off-guard you must brace yourself for the newest challenge.
The Typical Response
When a situation calls for something new, resistance is common. Usually, you like the familiar, predictable and repetitive that makes you feel comfortable and safe. But familiarity promotes a false sense of control and complacency tricks you into thinking specific outcomes are a guarantee.
Research shows that people prefer to avoid the unknown. Throughout time, this behavior has been regarded as a survival technique to ward off potential threats. Coined uncertainty or ambiguity aversion, studies like the Ellsberg paradox further demonstrate that individuals would rather choose a known outcome like a fifty percent chance of winning over an unknown outcome that could potentially offer an equal probability. Nonetheless, instead of considering the possibility of growth or opportunity we would rather maintain the status quo.
Just Another Part of Life
Unknown situations are inevitable, but you don’t have to cringe every time you encounter it. You can accept that uncertainty is a part of life and learn how to effectively manage your response to it.
| Faith is not certainty. It’s patience with mystery, the willingness to keep moving through a stage you don’t fully understand yet, without demanding the explanation upfront|
Credit: Jonathan, Fish Out of Water
Fear As an Ally
Oftentimes when you are met with the unknown or something new, it may invoke your greatest fears. Fear has a bad reputation, but fear is often misunderstood. Besides any horror that runs in your mind, fear has another side to its nature that can serve you well.
The feeling of fear doesn’t necessarily mean ruin. Fear is the great motivator. It pushes you forward when you need to make important life decisions. Fear promotes creativity as you arrive at a solution. It directs you back onto the right path. It signals growing pains as you transition to the next level. Fear is not baseless. You can acknowledge its presence and reframe your understanding of its purpose in your life.
Making fear into your ally allows you to feel safe with the knowledge that you are more than capable of landing on your feet. You do this on a daily basis. Trust your path without categorizing circumstances as good or bad. Neutrality helps you to detach from specific outcomes so you can remain open to the most optimal experiences.
Thinking too far into the future is also a common pitfall that fuels worry and anxiety when dealing with the unknown. To steady your nerves, focus on the things you can control now. Your immediate efforts will provide you with direction and reveal the next step. Thus, even though you can’t fully see your path, you are always in the process of navigating unknown territory and leading yourself forward by taking small steps.
The Benefits
The benefits of courageously taking a step forward despite your feelings are manifold. As you approach the unknown, be open to a new aspect of yourself. The unknown is the gateway to new experiences and reaching your full potential.
On the other side of an experience, you are officially changed. You are shaped and groomed by your experiences. You learn and grow. It stretches your capacity to endure and be resilient. The outcome is a more confident you, courageous you, a more loving you or perhaps a more compassionate you.
Experience teaches you what you like and what you don’t. As a result, you become more aware of your boundaries. Your experiences also prepare you for the next chapter of your life, giving you the maturity you need to be able to handle new roles. Ultimately, embracing the unknown stretches your capacity to develop essential skills and build character.
In Summary
Accepting uncertainty requires you to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. Think about your life altering experiences and outcomes. If you knew in advance what it would entail, you would probably say no thank you, next please.
But the unknown continually places you at the precipice of who you are and who you are becoming. Trust the process as a path of self-discovery. Otherwise, you would completely miss out on the inherited opportunities and benefits that something new and mysterious can offer.