How Successful People Overcome Uncertainty

Ourbrainsarehardwiredtomakemuchofmodernlifedifficult.Thisisespeciallytruewhenitcomestodealingwithuncertainty.Onthebrightside,ifyouknowtherighttricks,youcanoverrideyourbrain’sirrationaltendenciesandhandleuncertaintyeffectively.

Ourbrainsgiveusfitswhenfacinguncertaintybecausethey’rewiredtoreacttoitwithfear.Inarecentstudy,aCaltechneuroeconomistimagedsubjects’brainsastheywereforcedtomakeincreasinglyuncertainbets—thesamekindofbetswe’reforcedtomakeonaregularbasisinbusiness.

Thelessinformationthesubjectshadtogoon,themoreirrationalanderratictheirdecisionsbecame.Youmightthinktheoppositewouldbetrue—thelessinformationwehave,themorecarefulandrationalweareinevaluatingthevalidityofthatinformation.Notso.Astheuncertaintyofthescenariosincreased,thesubjects’brainsshiftedcontrolovertothelimbicsystem,theplacewhereemotions,suchasanxietyandfear,aregenerated.

 

Thisbrainquirkworkedgreateonsago,whencavemenenteredanunfamiliarareaanddidn’tknowwhoorwhatmightbelurkingbehindthebushes.Overwhelmingcautionandfearensuredsurvival.Butthat’snotthecasetoday.Thismechanism,whichhasn’tevolved,isahindranceintheworldofbusiness,whereuncertaintyrulesandimportantdecisionsmustbemadeeverydaywithminimalinformation.

Aswefaceuncertainty,ourbrainspushustooverreact.Successfulpeopleareabletooverridethismechanismandshifttheirthinkinginarationaldirection.Thisrequiresemotionalintelligence(EQ),andit’snowonderthat—amongthe1million-pluspeoplethat TalentSmart hastested­—90%oftopperformershavehighEQs.Theyearnanaverageof$28,000moreperyearthantheirlow-EQcounterpartsdo.

ToboostyourEQ,youhavetogetgoodatmakingsounddecisionsinthefaceofuncertainty,evenwhenyourbrainfightsagainstthis.Fearnot!Thereareprovenstrategiesthatyoucanusetoimprovethequalityofyourdecisionswhenyouremotionsarecloudingyourjudgment.Whatfollowsareelevenofthebeststrategiesthatsuccessfulpeopleuseinthesemoments.

Theyquiettheirlimbicsystems

Thelimbicsystemrespondstouncertaintywithaknee-jerkfearreaction,andfearinhibitsgooddecision-making.Peoplewhoaregoodatdealingwithuncertaintyarewaryofthisfearandspotitassoonasitbeginstosurface.Inthisway,theycancontainitbeforeitgetsoutofcontrol.Oncetheyareawareofthefear,theylabelalltheirrationalthoughtsthattrytointensifyitasirrationalfears­—notreality­—andthefearsubsides.Thentheycanfocusmoreaccuratelyandrationallyontheinformationtheyhavetogoon.Throughouttheprocess,theyremindthemselvesthataprimitivepartoftheirbrainistryingtotakeoverandthatthelogicalpartneedstobetheoneincharge.Inotherwords,theytelltheirlimbicsystemtosettledownandbequietuntilahungrytigershowsup.

Theystaypositive

Positivethoughtsquietfearandirrationalthinkingbyfocusingyourbrain’sattentiononsomethingthatiscompletelystress-free.Youhavetogiveyourwanderingbrainalittlehelpbyconsciouslyselectingsomethingpositivetothinkabout.Anypositivethoughtwilldotorefocusyourattention.Whenthingsaregoingwellandyourmoodisgood,thisisrelativelyeasy.Whenyou’restressingoveratoughdecisionandyourmindisfloodedwithnegativethoughts,thiscanbeachallenge.Inthesemoments,thinkaboutyourday,andidentifyonepositivethingthathappened,nomatterhowsmall.Ifyoucan"tthinkofanythingfromthecurrentday,reflectonthepreviousdayordaysoreventhepreviousweek,orperhapsyou’relookingforwardtoanexcitingevent.Thepointhereisthatyoumusthavesomethingpositivethatyou"rereadytoshiftyourattentiontowhenyourthoughtsturnnegativeduetothestressofuncertainty.

Theyknowwhattheyknow—andwhattheydon’t

Whenuncertaintymakesadecisiondifficult,it’seasytofeelasif everything isuncertain,butthat’shardlyeverthecase.Peoplewhoexcelatmanaginguncertaintystartbytakingstockofwhattheyknowandwhattheydon’tknowandassigningafactorofimportancetoeach.Theygatherallthefactstheyhave,andtheytaketheirbestshotatcompilingalistofthingsthey don’t know,forexample,whatacountry’scurrencyisgoingtodoorwhatstrategyacompetitorwillemploy.TheyactuallytrytoidentifyasmanyofthesethingsaspossIBLebecausethistakesawaytheirpower.

Theyembracethatwhichtheycan’tcontrol

Weallliketobeincontrol.Afterall,peoplewhofeellikethey’reatthemercyoftheirsurroundingsnevergetanywhereinlife.Butthisdesireforcontrolcanbackfirewhenyouseeeverythingthatyoucan’tcontrolordon’tknowasapersonalfailure.Peoplewhoexcelatmanaginguncertaintyaren’tafraidtoacknowledgewhat’scausingit.Inotherwords,successfulpeopleliveintherealworld.Theydon’tpaintanysituationasbetterorworsethanitactuallyis,andtheyanalyzethefactsforwhattheyare.Theyknowthattheonlythingtheyreallycontrolistheprocessthroughwhichtheyreachtheirdecisions.That’stheonlyrationalwaytohandletheunknown,andthebestwaytokeepyourheadonlevelground.Don’tbeafraidtostepupandsay,“Here’swhatwedon’tknow,butwe’regoingforwardbasedonwhatwe do know.Wemaymakemistakes,butthat’salotbetterthanstandingstill.”

Theyfocusonlyonwhatmatters

Somedecisionscanmakeorbreakyourcompany.Mostjustaren’t that important.Thepeoplewhoarethebestatmakingdecisionsinthefaceofuncertaintydon’twastetheirtimegettingstuckondecisionswherethebiggestriskislookingfoolishinfrontoftheirco-workers.Whenitcomesdowntoit,almosteverydecisioncontainsatleastasmallfactorofuncertainty—it’saninevitablepartofdoingbusiness.Learningtoproperlybalancethemanydecisionsonyourplate,however,allowsyoutofocusyourenergyonthethingsthatmatterandtomakemoreinformedchoices.Italsoremovestheunnecessarypressureanddistractioncausedbyaflurryofsmallworries.

Theydon’tseekperfection

Emotionallyintelligentpeopledon’tsetperfectionastheirtargetbecausetheyknowthere’snosuchthingasaperfectdecisioninanuncertainsituation.Thinkaboutit:humanbeings,byourverynature,arefallible.Whenperfectionisyourgoal,you’realwaysleftwithanaggingsenseoffailure,andyouendupspendingyourtimelamentingwhatyoufailedtoaccomplishandwhatyoushouldhavedonedifferently,insteadofenjoyingwhatyouwereabletoachieve.

Theydon’tdwellonproblems

Whereyoufocusyourattentiondeterminesyouremotionalstate.Whenyoufixateontheproblemsthatyou’refacing,youcreateandprolongnegativeemotionsandstress,whichhindersperformance.Whenyoufocusonactionstobetteryourselfandyourcircumstances,youcreateasenseofpersonalefficacythatproducespositiveemotionsandimprovesperformance.Emotionallyintelligentpeopledon’tallowthemselvestobecomepreoccupiedwiththeuncertaintiestheyface.Instead,theyfocusalltheirattentionandeffortonwhattheycando,inspiteoftheuncertainty,tobettertheirsituation.

Theyknowwhentotrusttheirgut

Ourancestorsreliedontheirintuition—theirgutinstinct—forsurvival.Sincemostofusdon’tfacelife-or-deathdecisionseveryday,wehavetolearnhowtousethisinstincttoourbenefit.Oftenwemakethemistakeoftalkingourselvesoutoflisteningtoourgutinstinct,orwegotoofarintheotherdirectionandimpulsivelydiveintoasituation,mistakingourassumptionsforinstincts.Peoplewhosuccessfullydealwithuncertaintyrecognizeandembracethepoweroftheirgutinstincts,andtheyrelyonsometried-and-truestrategiestodososuccessfully:

Theyrecognizetheirownfilters. They’reabletoidentifywhenthey’rebeingoverlyinfluencedbytheirassumptionsandemotionsorbyanotherperson’sopinion,forexample.TheirABIlitytofilteroutthefeelingsthat aren’t comingfromtheirintuitionhelpsthemfocusonwhatis.

Theygivetheirintuitionsomespace. Gutinstinctscan’tbeforced.Ourintuitionworksbestwhenwe’renotpressuringittocomeupwithasolution.AlbertEinsteinsaidhegothisbestideaswhilesailing,andwhenSteveJobswasfacedwithatoughproblem,he’dheadoutforawalk.

Theybuildatrackrecord. Peoplewhodealwellwithuncertaintytakethetimetopracticetheirintuition.Theystartbylisteningtotheirgutonsmallthingsandseeinghowitgoessothatthey’llknowwhethertheycantrustitwhensomethingbigcomesaround.

Theyhavecontingencyplans...

Stayingontopofuncertaintyisasmuchaboutplanningforfailureasitisabouthopingforthebest.Expertsathandlinguncertaintyaren’tafraidtoadmitthattheycouldbewrong,andthatfreesthemuptomakedetailed,rational,andtransparentcontingencyplansbeforetakingaction.Successfulpeopleknowtheyaren"talwaysgoingtomaketherightdecision.Theyknowhowtoabsorbandunderstandmistakessothattheycanmakebetterdecisionsinthefuture.Andtheyneverletmistakesgetthemdownfortoolong.

...buttheydon’task,“Whatif?”

“Whatif?”statementsthrowfuelonthefireofstressandworry,andthere’snoplacefortheminyourthinkingonceyouhavegoodcontingencyplansinplace.Thingscangoinamilliondifferentdirections,andthemoretimeyouspendworryingaboutthepossibilities,thelesstimeyou’llspendfocusingontakingactionthatwillcalmyoudownandkeepyourstressundercontrol.Successfulpeopleknowthatasking“whatif?”willonlytakethemtoaplacetheydon’twant,orneed,togoto.
Whenallelsefails,theybreathe

Youhavetoremaincalmtomakegooddecisionsinthefaceofuncertainty.Aneasywaytodothisliesinsomethingthatyouhavetodoeverydayanyway—breathing.Thepracticeofbeinginthemomentwithyourbreathingtrainsyourbraintofocussolelyonthetaskathandandquietsdistractingthoughts.Whenyou’refeelingoverwhelmed,takeacoupleofminutestofocusonyourbreathing.Closethedoor,putawayallotherdistractions,andjustsitinachairandbreathe.Thegoalistospendtheentiretimefocusedonlyonyourbreathing,whichwillpreventyourmindfromwandering.Thinkabouthowitfeelstobreatheinandout.Thissoundssimple,butit’shardtodoformorethanaminuteortwo.It’sallrightifyougetsidetrackedbyanotherthought—thisissuretohappenatthebeginning—andyoujustneedtobringyourfocusbacktoyourbreathing.Ifstayingfocusedonyourbreathingprovestobearealstruggle,trycountingeachbreathinandoutuntilyougettotwenty,andthenstartagainfromone.Don’tworryifyoulosecount;youcanalwaysjuststartover.Thistaskmayseemtooeasyorevenalittlesilly,butyou’llbesurprisedbyhowcalmyoufeelafterwardandhowmucheasieritistoletgoofdistractingthoughtsthatotherwiseseemtolodgepermanentlyinsideyourbrain.

BringingItAllTogether

Theabilitytostrategicallymanageambiguityisoneofthemostimportantskillsyoucancultivateinanincreasinglyuncertainbusinessenvironment.Trythestrategiesabove,andyourabilitytohandleuncertaintywilltakeahugestepintherightdirection.