Your brain is a prediction engine, which means there can be significant consequences when things don’t go according to plan. You will experience this time and time again.
A tight feeling in your chest when you get bad news. The sinking sense when a decision you make seems like a costly mistake. That anxiety when your plan changes at the last minute. We are all human. However, learning to deal with uncertainty better can have short-term and long-term benefits, leading to more success with less stress.
Sam Conniff is an entrepreneur also creator of Be More Pirate’s famous book and concept, which encourages rebellious action for positive change. Recently, Conifer developed Uncertainty Experts, the world’s first live interactive documentary scientifically proven to reduce anxiety and boost creativity. Filmed in May 2021, the documentary is described by Netflix as a “brain-expanding experience. Coniff says he can attest that a person’s tolerance (and enthusiasm) for uncertainty is the key to success.
With the help of academics and researchers, Conniff created an uncertainty assessment to help participants understand and increase their uncertainty tolerance. The test marks candidates in various fields, and I spoke with Konif to understand the components and their potential.
Uncertainty causes damage or breakthrough.
But I’ve learned that everyone, myself included, has a threshold. Coniff described how the pandemic had taken him from a good and profitable business to near bankruptcy. During those 12 months, which “brought me to my limits,” Coniff said. He became very alert, very restless and nervous, and fell into exhaustion doubts, and anxiety.”
Knowing he is not alone in this struggle, Coniff decides to interview people who live with uncertainty every day but uses this to his advantage. In interviews with potential participants, including refugee-turned-CEO and gang leader-turned-company leader. He learned “that uncertainty can either stop us or enlighten us” when turning their stories into interactive documentaries and changing online courses. Moreover, Coniff has understood that the concept of uncertainty has been shown throughout history to be just as adept at causing people to break or breakthrough.