Living With Uncertainty: Embracing the Undefined

Living with Uncertainty: Embracing the Undefined

We express our character through observable action. The nooks and crannies, the polished and rough, are on display for the world to see. Others look and judge by the actions we take. We work, we love, we hate, we give, and we hurt. These outward actions are measurable elements, easily compared and contrasted with others. Actions are essential to well-being. We shouldn’t feast on positive mindsets while starving for positive action; but there is more to a person than the value of their actions; something beyond description, existing in the mind, and (metaphorically) in the heart—I call this the undefined. Peace comes to those that accept the undefined and flourish while living with the uncertainty.

In their brightly bleached lab coats, scientist and doctors scurry around the laboratory and medical offices frantically measuring regions of the brain for activity, jumping at meager morsels of understanding to grasp the undefined measures of life. Scientific discoveries are enlightening, opening new realities, and creating better methods of healing. Even with modern technology, vivid brain scans, detecting chemical movement and neuronal communication, we still only have a small glimpse into the vast universe. The liveliness of our existence remains relatively undefined. We live in a vast realm of uncertainty.

Key Definition:

Uncertainty refers to the feeling of doubt, hesitation, or unpredictability in decision-making or when facing ambiguous situations. It can lead to anxiety, stress, and a sense of unease as individuals navigate unfamiliar or unknown circumstances. Uncertainty can impact various aspects of life, including relationships, career choices, and mental well-being, prompting individuals to seek ways to cope with and manage it effectively.

Living with Uncertainty and Freewill

Innate drives, shaped by experience, leap to life. The neurons communicate unnoticed without invading equipment but express themselves through motivations, emotions, consciousness, and behaviors. Somewhere in the twisted axons and neural synapses is born self-confidence, security, and self-esteem pushing connections and inspiring hate. Does this make me good or evil? How does free will exist within this framework? The answers remain—the undefined. We must live with the uncertainty.

Science will continue to provide expanding insights into the fabulous functions of the brain; but the knowledge has become too technical for the ordinary human. How does the activity of our brain help us survive divorce, courageously compete for gainful employment, break devastating addictions or endure suffering from cancer?

We live in the richness of existence regardless of what is defined and what is remains undefined. We must walk through daily existence with liveliness, full of emotions, and healthy connections. Presumably, we will understand more about life at sixty than we did at twenty. But the twenty-year-old is tasked with making choices that have greater impacts on their futures—education, marriage, and careers.

Making Decisions in Uncertainty

Unknowns will always challenge us. Perhaps many unknowns will shift with new discoveries, answering stubborn questions from the past. However, with new knowledge also comes new questions. Within the realm of partial knowledge, we must act. Immanuel Kant wrote, “Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.”

The well-lived life needs knowledge. We must hunger after knowledge, gathering facts and data. However, our actions must respect the infinite, understanding our humble limitations. Francis Bacon is correct, “Knowledge is power.” He wasn’t calling for complete knowledge—for completeness is impossible.

Reid Hastie and Robyn Dawes, leading cognitive psychologists and authorities on judgment and decision-making, wrote:

“People who attempt to grasp the totality of situations in order to predict or control exactly what will happen seldom fare as well as those who seek the more modest goal of living with the uncertainty” (Hastie & Dawes, 2010).

Basically, expecting to gather all the details before making a choice, impacts are ability to act. We wait and become frustrated.

Nathaniel Branden, founding father of the self-esteem movement, suggests our self-esteem has an impact on our response to self-esteem.

Branden wrote:

“The lower our self-esteem, the more muddy, evasive, and inappropriate our communications are likely to be, because of uncertainty about our own thoughts and feeling and/ or anxiety about listener’s response” (Branden, 1995).

In Solomon Asch’s conformity studies he measured the impact of external influence on behavior of subjects that were reasonable sure that their perception was correct. Many went with the group opposed to their own perceptions. We can only suppose that the drive to conform is much more influential when we are uncertain.

See Asch’s Conformity Studies for more on this topic

Great Thinkers all Come to the Same Conclusion

”It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” ~Thomas Sowell
“The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance.” ~Benjamin Franklin
“To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.” ~Nicolaus Copernicus
“The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance – it is the illusion of knowledge.” ~Daniel J. Boorstin
“True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing.” ~Socrates

Associated Concepts

Rational Choice Theory: This theory a framework that suggests individuals make decisions by weighing the costs and benefits of different options. It assumes that people are rational actors who seek to maximize their self-interest.
Rational Thought: This refers to reasoning by evaluating known facts, limiting influence of biases and emotional influences.
Value Theory: This theory is a branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and evaluation of human values and moral principles. It explores questions about what constitutes intrinsic value, the source of value, and how value influences human behavior and decision-making.
Behavioral Economics: This field studies the effects of psychological, cognitive, emotional, cultural, and social factors on the economic decisions of individuals and institutions. It also studies how those decisions vary from those implied by classical theory.
Neuroeconomics: This field of study combines methods and theories from neuroscience, psychology, and economics to understand how individuals make decisions. By exploring the neural mechanisms underlying economic decision-making processes, neuroeconomics aims to shed light on topics such as risk, reward, and social interactions.
Game Theory: A mathematical framework for analyzing strategic interactions among rational agents. Neuroeconomics uses insights from game theory to understand the neural mechanisms underlying strategic decision-making.
Theory of Reasoned Action: According to this theory, there is a relationship between attitudes and behaviors. This theory posits that an individual’s behavior is determined by their intention to perform the behavior, which is influenced by their attitude toward the behavior and subjective norms.
Prospect Theory: A behavioral economic theory that describes how people choose between probabilistic alternatives that involve risk, where individuals know the probabilities of outcomes. Neuroeconomics often employs prospect theory to interpret neural data related to decision-making under risk.

A Few Words by Psychology Fanatic

So, go ahead, embrace the unknown, live with the uncertainty. Our undefined center is the obstacle; accepting it is the answer. We must live within the burden of ignorance but flourish with the gift of partial knowledge. We gather the fragments available, organize our lives into action, and trudge forward into the darkness, where we find happiness, fear, joys. This is the experience of the undefined life. This is living with uncertainty. And consequently, this is the life we live.

Last Update: December 4, 2025

References:

Branden, Nathaniel (1995) The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem: The Definitive Work on Self-Esteem by the Leading Pioneer in the Field. Bantam; Reprint edition. ISBN-10: 0553374397
(Back to Article)

Hastie, Reid; Dawes, Robyn M. (2010). ‎Rational Choice in an Uncertain World: The Psychology of Judgment and Decision Making. SAGE Publications, Inc; Second edition. ISBN-10: 1412959039; APA Record: 2010-02957-000
(Back to Article)