How to Overcome Your Fear of the Unknown

Embrace the transformative potential of uncertainty.

by

Nathan Furr

and

Susannah Harmon Furr

by

Nathan Furr

and

Susannah Harmon Furr

From the Magazine (July–August 2022)

Michał Bednarski

Summary.

For many of us, uncertainty can be nerve-racking. That reaction, however, obscures a crucial fact: Uncertainty and possibility are two sides of the same coin. Chances are, your biggest achievements and transformational moments all came after a period of uncertainty—one that probably felt stressful but that you pushed through to accomplish something great.

Uncertainty doesn’t have to be paralyzing. After studying innovators and changemakers who handle it well and reviewing research on resilience and tolerance for ambiguity, the authors have found that the following four principles can help: (1) Reframe your situation by focusing on the potential upside. (2) Prime yourself by taking small risks and reducing uncertainty in other areas of your life. (3) Take a series of modest actions instead of making bet-the-farm moves. And (4) sustain yourself by recasting setbacks and focusing on things that have true meaning for you.

Humans are wired to fear the unknown. That’s why uncertainty—whether at the macro level of a global economic, health, or geopolitical crisis or at the micro level (Will I get that job? Will this venture be successful? Am I on the right career path?)—can feel nerve-racking, exhausting, and even debilitating. However, that gut reaction leads people to miss a crucial fact: Uncertainty and possibility are two sides of the same coin.

A version of this article appeared in the July–August 2022 issue of Harvard Business Review.

Nathan Furr is a Professor of Strategy at INSEAD and a coauthor of five best-selling books, including The Upside of Uncertainty, The Innovator’s Method, Leading Transformation, Innovation Capital, and Nail It then Scale It.
Susannah Harmon Furr is an entrepreneur based in Paris. She is a coauthor of The Upside of Uncertainty (Harvard Business Review Press, 2022).

How to Overcome Your Fear of the Unknown

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