Uncertainty occurs whenever an outcome can’t be predicted with your current level of knowledge. It’s life’s constant wildcard. Imagine watching a close sports game: the thrill comes from not knowing who will win. But in leadership, uncertainty often feels less exciting and more uneasy.
This discomfort isn’t arbitrary, it’s hardwired. Our ancestors needed certainty to survive: finding food, avoiding predators, and predicting weather. Today, that same instinct can produce anxiety, indecision, and even burnout when faced with career, health, or financial unknowns.
In this article, you’ll discover:
- What uncertainty really is and how your knowledge levels shape it
- Why uncertainty triggers anxiety and chronic stress, and the long-term health consequences
- How it shows up at work: from risk-aversion to conflict and disengagement
- Proven methods to manage uncertainty, starting with your body’s stress response and mental reframing
- Why coaching can help, guiding you to widen your tolerance and move forward with resilience
Embrace the unknown and let uncertainty become a catalyst for growth, not a barrier to progress.
What is Uncertainty?
Uncertainty is when something is not known or definite. There is no way of knowing the outcome of the situation with your current level of knowledge.
It’s like watching a sports game, you truly never know who will win on any given night. The level of uncertainty you would feel is based on how closely the two teams match up.
Uncertainty is a measure based on your perspective. It often arises from a lack of information, leading to the inability to assess potential risks. You become more certain by gaining more perspective, learning more about a topic, or by taking action and finding out the outcome.
A fear toward uncertainty has been evolutionarily ingrained in us. Being unable to predict what happens in your environment would lead to death. Our ancestors had to be able to predict where dangerous animals, food sources, and water would be.
The inability to manage this evolutionary trait now manifests in damaging ways. Disorders like anxiety, depression, and panic attacks can all stem from uncertainty.
Knowledge Creates and Solves Uncertainty
Uncertainty can show up in many different ways, some large and some small. However, no matter the size of the decision, uncertainty is solved with knowledge.
I don’t mean knowledge in the traditional sense of reading books either. I mean knowledge that is gained through experience. By having taken action and seeing the result. With the knowledge of experience, you are able to better predict outcomes for similar decisions.
The relationship between the two is on a curve:
When you leave ignorance, you immediately become more uncertain. Once you take action, that uncertainty goes down. You become more certain as you take action. Eventually, you no longer feel anxious and you enter into certainty.
As uncertainty builds, anxiety and panic are able to take hold. Ranging from general anxiety to very specific fears about new situations, social interactions, or health concerns.
High performers find ways to take action to resolve this uncertainty. Rather than staying stagnant and letting the uncertainty take over. They choose to attack, making uncertainty disappear with action.
5 Ways Fear of the Unknown Shows Up in Your Work
Risk Aversion
Uncertainty makes risks seem more intense than they otherwise would. Knowing what the decision would yield either positively or negatively makes it much easier to make the call.
But, it doesn’t stop there. Uncertainty of the reaction of those around you also can lead to risk aversion. Even if you know that new product idea should work, if it doesn’t, how will those around you react? Having unreliable emotional conditions can lead high performers to avoid making crucial decisions.
Over time, your decision making becomes weakened and people find you less reliable.
Find out more: Why does Decision making matter?
Physical Health Impacts
Based on the 2017 research of Dr. Achim Peters, Uncertainty can impact stress in two ways: Acute and Chronic.
Acute stress is caused immediately. The brain reacts to sensory data from the world and the body. The brain then proposes attainable states based on prior experience. If the correct next action is uncertain, the brain deploys a stress response.
Your brain releases stress neurochemicals like norepinephrine and cortisol. These chemicals help you regulate the uncertainty and manage until it can be dealt with.
Chronic Stress is when those stress chemicals are not dealt with appropriately. The body’s stress system remains active for extended periods of time.
This extended stress leads to high blood pressure, atherogenesis, and depressed mood. When combined, these conditions increase the likelihood of accelerated disease progression.
Uncertainty, when left unchecked, can literally make you sick.
Learn more: How to Make Clear Decisions Amid Uncertainty
Disengagement
Unreliability in your work, homelife, and other activities makes them suck so much more. Not knowing what to do, how to do it, or whether you will be reprimanded for doing it leads to total disengagement.
I’ve noticed this in teams I have been a part of. High performers make a call to support a client without a manager’s permission. That manager will then get upset that they were not a part of drafting an email or making a simple business decision. A decision that was to be made by the high performer anyway.
The high performer then has to walk on eggshells. Overthinking about what is within their bounds to do and what is not. After a few months, they become completely disengaged. Uninterested in supporting clients, helping teammates, or prop up their team.
No longer challenging beliefs and pushing boundaries you become stagnant and uninterested. Just going through the motions to grab a pay cheque.
Increased Conflict
If you’re not disengaged, you get frustrated. Unreliable decisions and the unknown cause frustration between you and your team. Your teams waste time and energy trying to unravel the mess.
Arguing about a decision that does not have a single right answer is one of the leading causes of time wasting in business. Both people are right, but do not see the waste in arguing. All the time arguing could be used to move things forward.
In worst cases, this could break teams apart. Sometimes, teams are so fragmented that they no longer discuss. This leads to a complete breakdown of both teams.
Burnout
Burnout is one of the most common drawbacks of uncertainty. Leaders and high performers spend time worrying about next steps, rather than executing. The more time a high performer spends worrying, the more likely they are to burnout.
During my time as a burnout coach, I’ve seen this consistently. Clients who are concerned by outcomes they cannot predict are often burning the candle at both ends.
Not only are you performing at a high level, you’re also spending time scrutinizing every decision. Eventually, you cannot keep up with the unrelenting inconsistency. This leads to a complete shutdown and no longer taking interest in your work and career development.
How to manage the Uncertain Future
The world is filled with uncertainty. We have no idea what the economy will do, how AI will impact our jobs, or when we will die. Basically, life is just a big ball of uncertainty.
That means managing uncertainty is key to continuing to move forward without burnout.
Using the Body to Survive Uncertainty
The physical symptoms of uncertainty come from the body’s inability to deal with certain neurochemicals in the brain. Adrenaline and Cortisol get released during uncertain times, requiring some form of release to return back to a normal baseline.
There are many different ways for you to deal with adrenaline and cortisol:
- Go for a walk
- Run
- Exercise at the gym
- Cold Showers
- Any other movement based activity
Giving yourself a way to channel acute stressors in a healthy way will protect against the long-term effects of uncertainty. Without the time to transform into chronic stress, uncertainty can actually be good for you.
Using your Mind to Curb Uncertainty
When you are unable to get yourself moving to help with your stressors, there are many mental reframes that can make uncertainty easier.
Challenge Negative Thoughts
Identify and challenge negative thought patterns associated with uncertainty. Coaches are experts at helping you reframe your thoughts to be supportive instead of detrimental.
Build Resilience
Expose yourself to levels of uncertainty that are comfortable but you can push through. This can allow you to become more familiar with the stress response and how to manage it.
Focus on Strengths
Identify and appreciate your strengths and past successes in navigating uncertainty. Knowing that you are going to be okay is a key for dealing with uncertain times.
Reframe Uncertainty
View challenges as opportunities for learning and growth, rather than a threat. This unknown time is a great way for you to become a more resilient individual.
Ruthlessly Protect your Boundaries
Boundaries are a powerful tool for managing uncertainty. Knowing your limits and openly communicating where you are at makes it easier for those around you to support you.
Learn more about how the mind influences Decisions: Emotional Resilience in Decision Making
Coaching makes Uncertainty Manageable
Getting help with uncertainty is one of the best ways to manage it. Oftentimes talking openly about what you’re dealing with can support.
Coaches are experts at helping you utilize the mental reframes that I mentioned above. They are experts at:
- Challenging Negative Thoughts
- Unearthing your strengths
- Reframing your outlook to help you rather than hinder you.
It’s like having a friend who cuts out all the B.S., the gossip, and the frustrating politics. Making you become the best version of yourself in an uncertain situation.
