Our brains are hardwired to make much of
modern life difficult. This is especially true when it comes to dealing with
uncertainty. When we are not sure what is going to happen, or our “plans” are
not going as planned, our brains are wired to react with fear. On the bright
side, if you know the right tricks, you can override your brain's irrational
tendencies and handle uncertainty effectively and kick uncertainty to the curb!
In a recent
study, a Caltech neuroeconomist imaged subjects' brains as they were forced to
make increasingly uncertain bets--the same kind of bets we're forced to make on
a regular basis in business.
The less
information the subjects had to go on, the more irrational and erratic their
decisions became. You might think the opposite would be true--the less
information we have, the more careful and rational we are in evaluating the
validity of that information. Not so. As the uncertainty of the scenarios
increased, the subjects' brains shifted control over to the limbic system, the
place where emotions, such as anxiety and fear, are generated.
This brain quirk worked great eons ago,
when cavemen entered an unfamiliar area and didn't know who or what might be
lurking behind the bushes. Overwhelming caution and fear ensured survival. But
that's not the case today. This mechanism, which hasn't evolved, is a hindrance
in the world of business, where uncertainty rules and important decisions must
be made every day with minimal information.
As we face
uncertainty, our brains push us to overreact. Successful people are able to
override this mechanism and shift their thinking in a rational direction. This
requires “Emotional Intelligence”. Studies have shown over and over again that
the majority of top performers have high Emotional Intelligence and that they
earn more money than their low Emotional Intelligence counterparts.
To boost your
Emotional Intelligence, you have to get good at making sound decisions in the
face of uncertainty, even when your brain fights against this. Fear not! There
are proven strategies that you can use to improve the quality of your decisions
when your emotions are clouding your judgment. What follows are seven of the
best strategies that successful people use in these moments.
#1 -They quiet their limbic systems
The limbic system
of the brain responds to uncertainty with a knee-jerk fear reaction, and fear
inhibits good decision-making. People who are good at dealing with uncertainty
are wary of this fear and spot it as soon as it begins to surface. In this way,
they can contain it before it gets out of control. Once they are aware of the
fear, they label all the irrational thoughts that try to intensify it as
irrational fears--not reality--and the fear subsides. Then they can focus more
accurately and rationally on the information they have to go on. Throughout the
process, they remind themselves that a primitive part of their brain is trying
to take over and that the logical part needs to be the one in charge. In other
words, they tell their limbic system to settle down and be quiet until a hungry
tiger shows up.
#2 -They stay positive
Positive thoughts
quiet fear and irrational thinking by focusing your brain's attention on
something that is completely stress-free. You have to give your wandering brain
a little help by consciously selecting something positive to think about. Any
positive thought will do to refocus your attention. When things are going well
and your mood is good, this is relatively easy. When you're stressing over a
tough decision and your mind is flooded with negative thoughts, this can be a
challenge. In these moments, think about your day, and identify one positive
thing that happened, no matter how small. If you can't think of anything from
the current day, reflect on the previous day or days or even the previous week,
or perhaps you're looking forward to an exciting event. The point here is that
you must have something positive that you're ready to shift your attention to
when your thoughts turn negative due to the stress of uncertainty.
#3 -They know what they know--and what they don't
When
uncertainty makes a decision difficult, it's easy to feel as if everything is
uncertain, but that's hardly ever the case. People who excel at managing
uncertainty start by taking stock of what they know and what they don't know
and assigning a factor of importance to each. They gather all the facts they
have, and they take their best shot at compiling a list of things they don't know,
for example, what a country's currency is going to do or what strategy a
competitor will employ. They actually try to identify as many of these things
as possible because this takes away their power.
#4 -They embrace that which they can't control
We all like to be in control. After all,
people who feel like they're at the mercy of their surroundings never get
anywhere in life. But this desire for control can backfire when you see
everything that you can't control or don't know as a personal failure. People
who excel at managing uncertainty aren't afraid to acknowledge what's causing
it. In other words, successful people live in the real world. They don't paint
any situation as better or worse than it actually is, and they analyze the
facts for what they are. They know that the only thing they really control is
the process through which they reach their decisions. That's the only rational
way to handle the unknown, and the best way to keep your head on level ground.
Don't be afraid to step up and say, "Here's what we don't know, but we're
going forward based on what we do know. We may make mistakes, but that's
a lot better than standing still."
#5 -They focus only on what matters
Some decisions can make or break your
company. Most just aren't that important. The people who are the best
at making decisions in the face of uncertainty don't waste their time getting
stuck on decisions where the biggest risk is looking foolish in front of their
co-workers. When it comes down to it, almost every decision contains at least a
small factor of uncertainty--it's an inevitable part of doing business.
Learning to properly balance the many decisions on your plate, however, allows
you to focus your energy on the things that matter and to make more informed
choices. It also removes the unnecessary pressure and distraction caused by a
flurry of small worries.
#6 -They don't seek perfection
Emotionally
Intelligent people
don't set perfection as their target because they know there's no such thing as
a perfect decision in an uncertain situation. Think about it: human beings, by
our very nature, are fallible. When perfection is your goal, you're always left
with a nagging sense of failure, and you end up spending your time lamenting
what you failed to accomplish and what you should have done differently,
instead of enjoying what you were able to achieve.
#7 -They know when to trust their gut
Our ancestors
relied on their intuition--their gut instinct--for survival. Since most of us
don't face life-or-death decisions every day, we have to learn how to use this
instinct to our benefit. Often we make the mistake of talking ourselves out of
listening to our gut instinct, or we go too far in the other direction and
impulsively dive into a situation, mistaking our assumptions for instincts.
People who successfully deal with uncertainty recognize and embrace the power
of their gut instincts.
#8 – The always have a “Plan B”
Staying on top of
uncertainty is as much about planning for failure as it is about hoping for the
best. Experts at handling uncertainty aren't afraid to admit that they could be
wrong, and that frees them up to make detailed, rational, and transparent contingency
plans before taking action.
Successful people know they aren't always
going to make the right decision. They know how to absorb and understand
mistakes so that they can make better decisions in the future. And they never
let mistakes get them down for too long.
What do you do when faced with
uncertainty? What strategies could you share that you have used, or that you
have seen someone else use? Please share your thoughts, each and every one of
us could always learn at least one (even if it is small) thing from someone
else that we may be able to implement down the road when faced with a tough
situation.
Thank you for reading! Feel free to contact me if you need support, with any questions or to share your thoughts below.
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