We are lucky life is uncertain
The world we live in today is far from predictable. The orange guy with the weird hair has shown that. You know, the one who was officially made the most powerful person in America last Friday.
Uncertainty often breeds insecurity. The mind starts racing. What does it all mean? What does it mean for me? Will I be ok? Will I lose my job? Will there be a world war?
Uncertainty creates a void where there should be control. We naturally aim to fill that gap and often, we pile in negative and useless thoughts, rather than something that’s positive and constructive (a la the questions above).
We all face uncertainty in life — not once but many times. In our first few years of life, all we’re faced with is uncertainty. But we don’t have anything to influence us yet so instead we focus on the exciting stuff, rather than wondering what bad things could happen: What does this do? What’s that furry moving object over there? What will happen if I try this?
We’re comfortable with not knowing. We’re more focused on thoughts and activities that are constructive, we’re more interested in learning and experimenting. We don’t dwell on the fact walking is still posing a bit of a challenge. Instead, we’re about giving it another go.
When we’re young we’re blissfully unaware of the stresses of life that are yet to come. The stresses that are given a foundation through the way we’re educated and through societal conditioning.
As soon as we go to school, it seems that our beautiful carefree and creative attitudes start to get chipped away. The thing that helped our brain absorb matter like a sponge — our ability to ask questions — gets downplayed as you get older: We’ve been over this already, it is this way because I said so.
Instead of holding onto that beautiful attribute of curiosity, we are taught to conform. Advertising and mainstream media help to further fuel that ideal, portraying pictures of how we should look if we want to be cool. Kim and Kanye all the way.
We’re made to believe we should always have the answers. So when we don’t, we become uncomfortable. That feeling acts like a gate; if we let it swing open, it might invite a few friends in such as fear and anxiety. And when that happens, it’s easy to stop thinking rationally. Emotion has taken over.
Having been in startups for a few years now, uncertainty is a way of life. But I can honestly say that I love it.. now. I didn’t always. In fact I had a big adjustment period when I left the big bad world of corporate and followed something I cared about.
But that adjustment period has been one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my life. That and marrying my wife. Although I suppose that was an adjustment too ;).
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Source: Unsplash, Andrew Neel[/caption]
I still do worry about things — uncertainty in one part of your life doesn’t always look the same in another. But I’ve found you can avoid being consumed by it through observing your own behaviour; how you react, what you feel, what you do.
We’re made to believe we should always have the answers. So when we don’t, we become uncomfortable.
But the most important point is that uncertainty often means opportunity. I got a taste for that in corporate life — when we went through periods of organisational change there was often more upside than there was down. From new projects to working with new people and sometimes, prompting you to do something you’ve always wanted to do, like finding a new gig at another company or changing the way you work altogether and pursuing more freelance work. I’ve seen plenty of people benefit.
When it comes to startups, uncertainty means learning, HUGE opportunity and the ability to try new things to see what works and what doesn’t. What allows you to do this is having an understanding that it’s ok not to be an expert in everything. It’s like grabbing the best parts of being a kid again, being curious and opening your mind to everything.
So the next time you’re faced with uncertainty, before you let those negative emotions take hold, stop, observe and then realise that there’s probably a lot of good stuff that you can make happen as a result.
Because we’re lucky to live in a world where things aren’t always certain. How boring it would be if everything was?
