How Do I Work With Uncertainty?

What is the feeling of uncertainty? We all have experienced uncertainty and grappled with the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing. Not knowing the answer. Not knowing how things will unfold.

There is a lot of uncertainty in the state of the world right now, and in our personal lives there may be some uncertainties as well.

There are big uncertainties like waiting on an important medical test result for yourself or a loved one. There are small uncertainties like wondering how a colleague would respond to an email you sent.

How do we work with it in mindfulness practice?

Notice the feeling of uncertainty when it comes up. Notice the various components of this experience of “uncertainty.”

If we really sit with this feeling and investigate it closely, we see that this feeling of uncertainty is made up of an aggregate of thoughts, emotions, physical sensations, and imagery.

What kinds of thoughts might you notice? Perhaps hoping things to turn out a certain way, or imagining the worst. Perhaps even thoughts about this sense of uncertainty and feeling tired of it, and just wanting some resolution, some ground to stand on.

What kinds of emotions or physical sensations might you notice? Perhaps a sense of groundlessness and anxiety, coupled with restricted breathing, tension in the body, queasiness in the stomach, etc.

Notice them and allow them to be there. Acknowledge them, and gently allow them to pass by. Return your attention to the breath, to this present moment.

The feelings of uncertainty will probably come up again, sometimes in the form of thoughts, sometimes in the form of emotions, sometimes in the form of physical sensations. But that’s OK. We just do the same practice of acknowledging them, letting them go, and coming back to the breath.

Bit by bit, we develop some tolerance for this feeling of not knowing. With patience, practice, and humility, we might even come to appreciate this sense of not knowing and learn to reside in it. Not knowing is actually our original mind nature, which is also called nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment.