Embracing uncertainty

Discover new ways of seeing the world by embracing uncertainty.

Imagine it’s two million years ago. You’re an early human ancestor, living with your fellow apes on the African savanna. You mostly spend your days foraging for food within the same area. Now, you could wander off and explore what’s over the next hill, but you don’t. Why not?

Well, for one, you don’t know what’s over there. Sure, there could be delicious berries, but it could also be a barren landscape filled with dangerous predators. Essentially, why risk the unknown when you’re safe and secure where you are?

This is the environment we evolved in. Those who played it safe generally stuck around to pass on their genes. As a result, humans have a profound appreciation for certainty. But there’s a trade-off. If we never explore, we’ll never discover those juicy berries – or anything else.

It’s no secret that humans avoid the unknown. Just think of how common it is for children to be afraid of the dark. This instinctual phobia comes from a problem of perception – or really, a lack of perception. Because we can’t see what’s out there, we assume that there could be predators lurking in the shadows.

By the time we’re adults, we learn that most dark rooms are actually quite safe. But still, our desire for certainty doesn't disappear, as one study from University College London demonstrates. Participants were either told they might get an electric shock or that they definitely would get an electric shock. Those who knew the pain was coming reported less stress than those left unsure.

Unfortunately, this aversion to uncertainty often keeps us clinging to old assumptions about what is true. The only way to move forward is to embrace uncertainty. And a great way to accomplish this is to pause between your experience and your reaction.

For example, imagine a stranger bumps into you roughly. Your first reaction might be to think, “What a jerk!” This may feel correct or certain, but it’s only a narrow interpretation. If you stop for a moment and embrace uncertainty, you’ll realize that you don’t know the whole story. The stranger might not be a jerk at all, and could be rushing to do a good deed or suffering from issues with balance.

Either way, by acknowledging that you don’t know, you can embrace alternative interpretations of the world. That open-minded attitude is the key to creativity.