““Uncertainty is WISDOM IN MOTION.”
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I think all of us can agree that the word “unprecedented” has been used in, well, an unprecedented amount of times in the last few years.
We are living amongst volatile geo-political turmoils, a world still recovering from a pandemic, the fear of our planet deteriorating, and rapidly changing transformations across all industries (helloooo AI!). In the sustainable fashion world for example, legislation is set to bring about many changes that will change the future of the industry, stirring up a lot of nervousness about how to adapt.
Change can stir up scary feelings of uncertainty. But what if I told you that uncertainty can actually lead us to our richest creative potential? In her book, “Uncertainty: The Wisdom and Wonder of Being Unsure”, author Maggie Jackson demonstrates why uncertainty is the mindset most needed in times of flux.
Here are my key takeaways from the book so far, marked by my favorite quotes:
“The best thinking begins and ends with the wisdom of being unsure…yet we now treat this gateway to life’s richest cognitive possibilities as a secret shame.”
According to Jackson, uncertainty can fuel greatness. Though we fear the unknown, she argues that uncertainty plays an essential role in higher-order thinking, propelling us to new heights of creativity. When we are triggered by not knowing, it forces us out of our predictable thinking patterns and jolts us into thinking outside the box, reaching for new possibilities. Perhaps there is a better solution that we have never identified before, one that is better suited for the world we’re in now. If we let it, uncertainty can lead us to creative innovation.
“When the stakes are high, those who do not know gain the cognitive advantage.”
Jackson also argues that leaders who are unafraid to admit when they do not know the answer are the ones that will be the best suited to manage the world we live in now. Leaders who insist on sticking to ‘tried and true solutions’ are disadvantaged with outdated approaches to new challenges. Instead, leaders who admit ‘they don’t know’ leverage the power of curiosity to engage others with diverse thoughts and ideas, giving them the ability to make more informed, inclusive decisions. As Jackson states, “When something goes amiss…we gain an astonishing chance to break from autopilot, pivot and reassess.”
In my own life, I’ve learned that curiosity is the best antidote to uncertainty, but the key is to ask the right questions. While many of us default to “what could go wrong?”, the better question is, “what could go right?”.
“Working memory, the capacity to hold an idea in mind and work with it, expands when we are unsure, studies suggest. The brain is directing energy to itself; this is why leading researchers consider uncertainty a good form of stress.”
In the book, Jackson provides real-life stories that demonstrate how top performers across industries (from doctors to mathematicians and everyone else in between) have leveraged uncertainty into a superpower. But what I appreciate most about the book are the neuroscience studies that prove how uncertainty affects our brain. According to studies referenced in the book, our minds are more alert when we are uncertain, leading to richer activity in our brains. “Instability leads to stress hormones, which then releases powerful neurotransmitters to boost receptivity to new data, primes various brain regions to share information, and fires up cognitive circuits that flexibly control our focus.” In short, life’s surprises primes us to learn something new, thus expanding richer possibilities in our brain.
Yup, uncertainty makes us smarter.
While there is still so much I do not know, reading this book has given me one thing I know for sure: there is magic in uncertainty.
“Knowledge strengthened by uncertainty is the heart of superior performance under fire and the key to creating a new standard of expertise-questioning —open, adaptive—, for volatile time. Uncertainty is wisdom in motion.”
Get Maggie Jackson’s book here.
To listen to her speak on the subject, check out this podcast episode.