Alternate Perceptions Magazine, December 2024
Dealing With Uncertainty
by: Stan Prachniak
Whether you realize this or not, you deal with uncertainty constantly in your life. Of course, your awareness of this fact is likely disguised by comfort. What I mean here is that there are things in your life that you have become so comfortable with that you take them for granted, or you are certain that they will occur as they usually do. For instance, driving to work, school, or the grocery store. Each day that you get in your car to drive somewhere, you don’t ever expect to not get there—you don’t consider the possibility that you will not make it to your destination. If you think about it, many elements of your commute are uncertain and completely out of your control. You cannot control what other drivers are doing, when traffic lights will change, or the weather. What you can control is what you do behind the wheel, how you react to other drivers’ actions, and how cautious you are in adverse weather. Even these things that you control will lead to more uncertain situations and future decision points where you will have to choose what to do. You may have the illusion of control in your life, but in reality, you only control what you do in each moment and the rest is uncertain.
In order to deal with uncertainty, you first have to acknowledge that it exists. It is a good idea to bring awareness to the fact that things will happen each day that are out of your control. Once you have done this, you can begin to let go of the beliefs and feelings that you have about how you can control various areas of your life. This gives you the ability to focus more on being present, doing what you can do in each moment, and doing the things that align with your personal development and goals. Each day, choose to do the things that make you who you are or who you want to become. You will face challenges each day, and you won’t know what they are until they happen. Simply accepting this fact will help ease the stress of these situations. When you are faced with an unexpected challenge, take a step back, assess your beliefs about the situation, choose what you will do to overcome the challenge, and then do it.
Dealing uncertainty in life is stressful. If you make a habit of being present and aware that you control only what you do in these moments, you can begin to ease that stress. One easy way to do this is by utilizing the “ABCD” method: Assess the situation and your Beliefs about it, Choose what you will do, and Do it.
Freedom To Change offers a way for you to learn how to evaluate and conquer the challenges that life presents you with. For more information on the Freedom To Change materials, visit www.freedom2change.org.