Make Friends With Uncertainty

Uncertainty is a truth of life. Take action despite uncertainty. Do not wait for certainty before taking action.

We are normally apprehensive of uncertainty as it takes away our feeling of control over the future. Uncertainty, however, is as certain as death. You have no way of being certain about how your life would be a year or a month from now. In fact you cannot even be sure of tomorrow, or even today. In this article, I do not intend to deal with uncertainty relating to natural calamities such as unforeseen earthquakes, or health risks such as sudden heart attacks. My focus is on uncertainty in our day to day life.

The root cause of uncertainty lies in the very design of life. I had touched upon it it in one of my earlier posts; Life is Like a Game of Cards. From this perspective, life depends on four primary factors. The cards that got dealt to you, the cards that got dealt to others, the way you play your cards and the way others play their cards. Of these four things, you can only control how you play your cards. The other three things add to uncertainties in your life, as you cannot foresee how others will play their cards nor can you have any control over the cards that got dealt to you or others.

The best way to deal with uncertainty is to accept it as a truth of life. Uncertainty does make it difficult to predict and plan for future. However, it also opens the door to unforeseen opportunities and positive turn of events. Instead of trying to avoid or fight uncertainty, make space for contingencies when you design or plan your life. Be open to revising your designs and plans as life unfolds. Look for new opportunities. Be open to taking on opportunities that do not exist today, but might result in the future.

Make friends with uncertainty and make space for it in your life. Your friend may be a pain at times, but she also brings you the flowers of opportunity.

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