Your brain is a prediction machine, meaning that when things don't go as planned, there can be significant consequences. 

 

You’ll have experienced this many times. That tight feeling in your chest when receiving adverse news. That sinking feeling when a decision you made starts to look like a costly mistake. That anxiety when your schedule changes at the last minute. We're all human. 

 

However, learning to cope better with uncertainty could have benefits in the short and long term, leading to more significant success with less stress.

 

Paradoxically, uncertainty holds potential for both pain and possibility. This potential lies in your uncertainty tolerance. Rather than just the avoidance of pain, uncertainty tolerance opens opportunities reserved for those who embrace the unknown.

 

Increasing your uncertainty tolerance lies in your trained response to the concept. You can train yourself to accept and even welcome uncertainty simply in whether you think of it as something that will harm you or help you. 

 

The next time you feel anxious or fearful of the future, be mindful. Aim to see the opportunity instead of the dread. Believe that this uncertainty will help you, which all the research points to. 

 

While others are burying their head in the sand, wishing it to pass, you’ll be welcoming a new future with open arms. It’s this future that those cowering and hiding will miss.

 

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From an interview with Sam Conniff, creator of Uncertainty Experts. The full article is on my Forbes column here.