Uncertainty

Is the only thing we can ever be certain of. It’s the blindfold we all wear—more comfortable for some than others. Uncertainty is revealing; It strips us of our biases and dispositions, exposes our insecurities and desires. It’s the cornerstone of humility and the catalyst for curiosity. It’s the pit in which courage is born and the setting in which awe occurs. Uncertainty is the father of virtue and the child of time–our experience would be radically different without it.

It’s amazing how easily we can be utterly convinced, only to become dissuaded moments later. New conviction rushes to fill the void, proving that belief itself was the necessity, not the truth it may carry. Humans don’t operate well in moderation. And if the whiplash of this about-face isn’t painful enough to make you hedge your bets, then the purgatory of indecision surely is.

Trapped between actions—stay or go, yes or no—we are only ever forced in a direction by time. Until the moment the plinko ball slides left or right, we must account for either occurrence. Indecision may occur when we are presented with equally convincing evidence for distinct opportunities, but it only becomes a burden when we feel the necessity to decide. Uncertainty teaches us to consider all options in superposition until the moment of collapse is required.

The best approach to uncertainty is from a probabilistic point of view. This is not for the sake of choosing the most likely outcome, but rather to speculate on the broad range of possibilities. With this mindset, we can ease emotional volatility and mitigate indecision fatigue. By embracing uncertainty rather than fighting it, we can live more comfortably here–blind and present.