Normalizing Uncertainty

Normalizing Uncertainty

[This is a post in the “Dancing with Uncertainty” series. To learn more about existential wellness coaching, please visit here.]

Uncertainty is not a modern affliction, nor is it a sign of personal failure. It is, and always has been, a fundamental part of what it means to be human. From ancient times to the present, human beings have had to navigate the unpredictable, the ambiguous, and the unknowable.

By normalizing uncertainty and by treating it as a given in life, we recognize a truth that philosophers, theologians, scientists, and poets have long accepted: we live in a world where not everything can be known or controlled.

Socrates, often regarded as the father of Western philosophy, famously declared that his wisdom lay in knowing that he knew nothing. This was not self-deprecation but an existential insight: to be human is to stand on shifting ground, constantly aware of how limited our knowledge is.

Of course, it isn’t that we know nothing. But we know so very much less than we wish we knew … and so very much less that we need to need to know in order to make fully-informed decisions. That means that all of our decision, including the most important ones, are going to be edged with anxiety: the anxiety of not really being able to feel certain that we made the right decision.

Uncertainty has remained a central theme of intellectual life. The 18th-century Enlightenment, with its emphasis on reason and science, seemed to celebrate certainty, but even its champions were aware of the limits of knowing. David Hume, the Scottish philosopher, challenged the notion that causality could ever be definitively proven, warning that our knowledge of the world is always mediated by perception and habit.

In the 20th century, quantum physics echoed this sentiment on a subatomic level, as Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle showed that it is impossible to simultaneously know both the position and momentum of a particle. In science as in life, absolute certainty is elusive.

Psychologically and culturally, the modern world has often tried to suppress uncertainty by pursuing control—through technology, data, or productivity. But such efforts can backfire, leaving individuals feeling anxious when life fails to conform to expectations. In contrast, existentialist thinkers like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir encouraged a confrontation with uncertainty. To them, the lack of fixed meaning was not a problem to be solved, but a condition to be accepted—and even embraced—as the starting point for freedom and authentic living.

Normalizing uncertainty allows us to shift from a stance of fear to one of curiosity. Instead of interpreting ambiguity as failure, we can view it as an invitation to grow, reflect, and adapt. This is especially relevant in times of global upheaval—pandemics, climate crises, political instability—when the desire for certainty can lead to rigid thinking, polarization, or denial.

By acknowledging that uncertainty is not the exception but the rule, we cultivate resilience and compassion, both for ourselves and for others. In coaching, therapy, education, and leadership, normalizing uncertainty can create safer, more humane spaces. It encourages risk-taking, creativity, and humility. It invites people to say, “I don’t know yet,” without shame, and to live with open questions rather than rushing to premature answers.

Ultimately, to normalize uncertainty is to befriend reality. Life is unpredictable. Plans change. People evolve. Systems break. And still, we can live with a sense of purpose. Will the sands shift? Yes. But that need not surprise us … or disable us.

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Eric Maisel is the author of 60+ books, including Choose Your Life Purposes, Fearless Creating, Coaching the Artist Within, Redesign Your Mind, and The Van Gogh Blues. His latest is Brave New Mind (Books That Save Lives, 2025). He has developed three training programs for Noble Manhattan Coaching, a creativity coach certificate program, an existential wellness coach certificate program, and a relationship coach certificate program. He can be visited at ericmaisel.com and reached at [email protected].

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This Post is republished on Medium.

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