Uncertainty

I was just listening to a podcast yesterday while I ran called The Art of Charm.  It was a conversation with author Olivia Fox Cabane on The Science of Creativity and Genius.  She says that each of us have a threshold for uncertainty.  That once we have reached that threshold, we go to fight, flight or freeze.  

Check out the podcast.  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/art-charm-confidence-relationship/id212382281?mt=2&i=340354310

The podcast I ran with this morning again addressed uncertainty from a different angle.  Civility and Doubt.  Often in a discussion when two people hold opposing views, one or both will become uncivil and aggressive.  I considered what I learned yesterday about uncertainty and how the brain responds – that the brain reacts to uncertainty in the same way that it reacts to pain; with an urgent directive to resolve it, creating a tension that won’t go away without resolution.  We want to be certain – confident.  And this works against us when we are certain or confident about things that aren’t certain.   When doubt is introduced, tension is created so that we want to defend what we hold as certain – even to the point of uncivil aggression.  This is why it is so hard to be open minded about those thoughts, ideas, values and principles that I hold dear.  It reminds me of the quote from the back of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous,

“There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance.  That principle is contempt prior to investigation.”

Yet, when I become open minded, willing to consider the possibility that I have placed my confidence in a position that may not be accurate, the tension of uncertainty (aka curiosity) will serve me by inspiring investigation and inquiry until the uncertainty is replaced by insight and clarity.

One Plus One = Blue

One plus one is two.  Predictable.  One plus one = blue.  Not.   Not expected and it doesn’t fit into what we have accepted as the truth.  One plus one is blue doesn’t make any sense.  Things that don’t make sense slow us down.  Ain’t nobody got time for that.

We have all developed beliefs, rules and conditions about what does and doesn’t make sense so that life can be predictable.  That’s the way our brain works.  The brain’s job is to make sure that we survive.  It recognizes patterns and turns them into habits which are wired into the subconscious.  The brain makes mental habits out of thoughts that we repeatedly think, feeling habits out of feelings we repeatedly feel, and action habits out of the actions we repeatedly take.

Take money for example.   So many of us get upset around money because of the mental habits – the beliefs - that we have about it.   

• What does money mean to you?  
• What are your rules for money?  
• Are the rules for you the same as the rules for everyone else?   
• What do you think of people who have a lot of money?   
• Why do you have as much as you have?  

Your answers to these questions reveal some of your rules, conditions and beliefs about money.   Without changing these rules, conditions and beliefs, your money results won’t change. The same goes for time, relationships and business.

When our rules get broken, when our conditions are not met, and when our beliefs are challenged, it’s easy to get upset.  Upset is what happens when what is expected and predictable doesn’t happen.  So when you are upset, your brain is working perfectly.

Predictable is safe.  Safe is comfortable.  Until it's not.  Living life to be comfortable is the most natural thing to do.  It means reacting to life with predictable thoughts, predictable choices, predictable feelings, predictable actions and predictable results.  This works well until the results that are predictable are no longer acceptable or workable. 

Now there is a problem.  What has always worked in life doesn't seem to be working anymore.   Now our rules beliefs and conditions aren’t making things comfortable and it’s time to change them.  Not so fast.  Change is hard.  Change is uncomfortable.  Sometimes trying to change is so frustrating that we just decide we can live with the way things ares.  But now we have constant stress.  Let’s define stress as what happens when our addiction to comfort produces discomfort.

stress: when the addiction to comfort produces discomfort

Now let’s think about the words, possible and possibility.  Notice what happens when you begin to imagine something great for yourself or for your life that isn’t already in the realm of what is predictable, comfortable or expected.  You probably experience a mixture of thoughts and feelings.   You go car shopping and find a car that makes you feel like a million bucks and you get excited until you find out it will cost you a million bucks. Then you feel disappointed.  This yo-yo effect can make you nauseous.  It can make you stop dreaming. 

The unknown is where possibility lives.  Living in the unkown means living in possibility but to get there you have to travel light.   There’s really no room for baggage including fear, the past and what you think you know. 

Predictably, the unknown is unpredictable.  The unknown is uncomfortable until it becomes the new mental habit.  The unknown is full of the unexpected.  Unlike what is comfortable and predictable, the unknown is infinite.  The possibilities are endless.

Are you ready to get in the game?  What’s holding you back?   You can wait until what is predictable becomes unbearable or you can take the leap now.   One, Blue, Three,  JUMP!