Or are you not so certain about that?
This might help you decide...
In 1973 and 1974, the U.S. military decided to survey its troops on a peculiar topic:
Their food preferences.
The top brass asked 4,000 members of the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force to rank their various dishes from favourite to least favourite.
Only thing is, there was a twist to the survey.
The U.S. military wasn’t actually interested in discovering its troops’ food preferences. What it was really interested in was discovering how they reacted to fake information.
And that’s why, among the usual yummy dishes like fried parsnips, skimmed milk and stewed prunes, the survey also included three made-up dishes.
These dishes were “funistrada”, “buttered ermal” and “braised trake”.
Want to know the survey results?
Out of 378 options, braised trake came 362nd, buttered ermal landed 356th and funistrada came a respectable 332nd (right next to the legitimate Christmas staple, the humble brussel sprout).
To my mind, these results shine a light on how we tend to make sense of uncertainty. Which, if the survey is to be believed, is by taking something uncertain and quickly trying to make it as certain or familiar as possible.
But there’s a fly in the
ointment with this "making uncertainty more certain" strategy.
See, life is inherently uncertain and full of unknowns. So trying to find more certainty in the world is a bit like trying to find straight lines in a bowl of
spaghetti.
Perhaps that sounds like bad news.
But I’d like to suggest this is really good news.
Not only does embracing uncertainty free us from the impossible task of chasing what doesn't exist. But it's also the path to creativity, discovery and insight. After all, uncertainty is the only condition under which anything new can ever happen.
So perhaps uncertainty isn't the enemy after all. Perhaps it's not something to
fear or pin down but something to play with instead.
The reason I bring all this up?
Today I’m running a survey of my own.
I’m doing some market research about strategies for navigating uncertainty.
I’ve listed 9 common strategies below:
- Meditation
- Journaling
- Thought Laddering
- Goal Setting
- Breathing exercises
- Grit-Flux
- Mindfulness
- Going for a walk
- Quantum Edgework
I’d like you to rank these strategies in order of your favourite to your least
favourite.
If you’d like to take part in this survey, hit reply and let me know your rankings.
I look forward to hearing from you.
To fulfilment,
Tom