6 Healthy Ways To Deal With Uncertainty About The Future
Uncertainty is inevitable, but it’s also manageable.
Researched, written by 
Amber & The Team
Updated on July 9, 2023
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Life is often full of worries, that’s for sure.
We worry about our health, family, kids, education, money, political as well as financial climates, and all other sorts of stuff – you name it.
One thing that all of these concerns have in common is the threat of uncertainty. No one can really know what turn life will take tomorrow – you can only guess and some people are even extremely good at that.
Yet, ultimately, life is not and will never be 100% predictable.
Of course, this feeling of uncertainty about the future can be crippling, leaving you anxious, depressed, and overwhelmed.
All of us have probably gone through similar experiences many times in our lives… However, it doesn’t mean that that’s how we should deal with uncertainty about the future in our life.
There are many other, much more positive, and healthier ways of doing that.
Here are some of them.
6 Helpful Ways To Deal With Uncertainty About The Future
1) Don’t Beat Yourself Up
The first and the most important thing to realize when dealing with uncertainty about the future is that everyone tolerates a different amount of it.
While some handle it with ease, others struggle – and that’s completely okay.
Punishing yourself will not bring you any good and might even set you back in your journey of self-development.
2) Accept That Uncertainty Is Inevitable
At first glance, this thought seems self-defeating, and something along the lines of “well, don’t be sad, just be happy”…
However, accepting the fact that there is no way you can predict everything that’s going to happen is one of the first steps in learning how to deal with uncertainty about the future.
It’s humanly impossible to be able to control every single situation in your life.
There’s always going to be some degree of uncertainty involved, sometimes more, sometimes less.
There is no escaping that, so it’s better to just accept the fact and let life unravel itself – it might surprise you!
3) Consider Your Past Experiences
Reflect on how you managed to deal with uncertainty in the past.
Surely, you have overcome plenty of obstacles in the past, many of which you were probably unable to foresee!
Let the fact that you managed to successfully deal with uncertainties before inspire you to move forward.
Also, think about how well it went and what you gained in the process.
Maybe there are some things you particularly like or dislike about how you dealt with uncertainty?
Learn from your mistakes as well as achievements and let them guide you throughout your stressful periods today.
4) Hold Onto The Controllable
If life gets a little bit too hectic and overwhelming, and it gets to the point where you can’t just take it anymore… Remember there are plenty of things that you can actually control.
Hold onto that.
Build yourself a simple routine.
Wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day, set an eating schedule, or read a book for an hour before bed.
These may seem like little things, but, trust me, they help to keep yourself grounded and feel like you’re on top of the things.
However, if you do slip here and there, remember – don’t beat yourself up.
Try again tomorrow.
5) Don’t Overthink
It’s a well-known fact by now that overthinking won’t do you any good.
It won’t help you deal with uncertainty about the future for sure!
Rather, you’ll just end up walking in circles, imagining scenarios that might not even happen.
So don’t ruminate on the negativity in your life because it can make you feel even more stressed.
This is the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve when learning to manage your reaction to uncertainty.
6) Mindfulness Is Key
When dealing with uncertainty, we are very focused on the future and what might happen, which can be quite overwhelming.
However, as I’ve mentioned before, we all need to learn to accept that life will always have some degree of uncertainty, and that’s something you cannot escape.
You need to learn how to stop imagining and stressing over what tomorrow might look like. Instead, try focusing on the present and be mindful. Appreciate what you have now, try to stop for a minute and relax.
Meditation, or just being present really helps with that.
Reading is also considered to be a form of meditation, so whenever you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can simply get a book out.
Find a calm corner in your house, get yourself comfortable, and chill with a book in your hands for an hour or two.
You’ll see, it really does help to destress!
– – –
What tomorrow may bring is a mystery to us all… We all yearn for control and stability in our lives, and that’s understandable – we need to feel on top of things to feel secure.
However, uncertainty about the future interferes with our feelings of safety, and, without knowing how to deal with it, the inability to predict tomorrow might leave you feeling very overwhelmed and stressed.
Luckily, there are ways that can help you deal with uncertainty and you’ve read of some today.
Shall we recap?
It’s important to realize that uncertainty is inevitable – reflection and mindfulness help with that a lot.
Also, remember to not be hard on yourself… Other than that, just give yourself time – everything will be alright in the end.
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