Curiosity as a cure for a fear of uncertainties
- sciart0
- May 17
- 2 min read
Excerpt: "Lately, I’ve felt weighed down by the constant churn of chaos and uncertainty—like I’m carrying a low-grade tension in my body that never fully lets up. The news is dizzying. The pace of change is relentless. Some days it feels like we’re lurching from one crisis to the next with no time to process, no moment to exhale. I find myself waking up already bracing for what the day might bring. It’s like the ground is constantly shifting, and we’re all being asked to find our footing in real time.
And then there are the quieter, internal questions I carry with me—the ones that tug at me in the middle of the night or when I’m trying to make sense of the day: Am I doing enough? Am I doing the right things? What happens next—in my work, my community, this fragile world we’re raising our kids in? How do I protect what I love in a world that feels so unpredictable?
The truth is, uncertainty makes me anxious. I like a plan. A path. A sense of direction.
I’ve always found comfort in being the one who “has it together,” who can anticipate needs, offer advice, solve the problem. I used to believe that being prepared—being in control—was the answer.
That if I could just think far enough ahead, work hard enough, care enough, I could stay one step ahead of the chaos. But that illusion has cracked open. The world is too complex for neat plans.
The one (only?) good thing about being addicted to reading the headlines is that I get more exposure to other articles as well. A few weeks ago, I read a beautiful essay by Suleika Jaouad about her cancer diagnosis (gift link here). In it, she explores the evolution of her relationship with fear—beginning with an overwhelming unease around mice and culminating in a deeper confrontation with mortality and uncertainty following her leukemia diagnosis and relapse.
But what really struck me was the final line:“That’s what I found on the other side of fear: the knowledge that I can handle it, whatever ‘it’ is—as long as I’m one percent more curious than afraid.”