Embracing Uncertainty
“Choosing to be curious is choosing to be vulnerable because it requires us to surrender to uncertainty. It wasn't always a choice; we were born curious. But over time, we learn that curiosity, like vulnerability, can lead to hurt.” - Brené Brown
Sit in a coffee shop for thirty minutes listening to the conversations around you and you’ll quickly realize something: everyone has opinions about everything. It seems rare today to hear someone admit that they don’t know the answer or that they haven’t formed an opinion on a certain topic yet. That’s because stating such a thing requires embracing uncertainty, choosing to be curious over being “right”.
Sarah Knapp, a 6th year graduate student who’s studying the psychological effects of uncertainty said, “Covid is this waiting period where the entire world is going through this one really, really crazy thing. This speaks to our work and has directed our research in one way or another” (Santoro, 2021). And she’s right. Covid has plunged the world into multiple, drawn-out spans of time where we are all waiting for positive news without any certainty of the outcome.
One of the greatest tools for battling anxiety and depression that can be brought on by quarantine turns out to be curiosity and engaging in what the researchers referred to as “flow.” These are activities that are completely absorbing such as running, painting, writing, or gardening. According to the article linked below, “a study conducted by Sweeny and Rankin found that people in a lengthy quarantine who reported higher-than-average flow experiences were actually no worse off than people who had not yet quarantined” (Santoro, 2021).
Perhaps in the past, we’ve believed that we need to be ready with an opinion about whatever topic is brought up among friends and family, but that isn’t the case. When we let our guard down enough to admit that we don’t know something, or we take the time to ask questions instead of assuming a position that isn’t well formed, we actually make ourselves more approachable.
Remember how some people used to be referred to as know-it-alls? It seems that being a know-it-all has somehow become socially acceptable. Maybe it’s the fact that we each have so much more access to information than previous generations (hello internet, I’m looking at you) or maybe it’s the higher level of exposure we get (yep, still looking at you internet) to a wide variety of opinions on a wide variety of topics. It’s a brave thing indeed in a world that’s always choosing sides to stand in the middle!
The next time you find yourself wanting to quickly jump into something with a half baked opinion, stop and try to ask a question instead. We could all stand to practice a little more curiosity in our lives!
Reference: Santoro, H. (2021). The science of uncertainty. APA. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2021/11/lab-science-uncertainty.
Challenges/Points:
There’s a general pressure today to have an opinion about everything or to prove that we are right.
When we admit that we don’t know something or we practice curiosity, we’re practicing a form of vulnerability that lets us truly grow.
Instead of always jumping in with opinions and statements, try asking more questions.
Questions:
Does it resonate with you that we’re more pressured today to have opinions about everything?
How do you cope with uncertainty and not knowing things?
What activities do you enjoy that have a high level of flow?
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