Our greatest fear: The unknown

“People would rather be unhappy than uncertain” I find this quote interesting, for context, it was said concerning people working in jobs they hate, rather than venturing into the unknown to do a job they like. People prefer structure rather than forming one’s way, or trying something new to do what they really want to do.

The fear of uncertainty is Perhaps this is why darkness is scary or going into a bush, or maybe even approaching people can bring a sense of nervousness because we don’t know how they will react or what they will say, Or why Sometimes you would rather hear the bad things people have to say about you rather than just not listen.

A lot of anxiety is fearing the unknown. When we even have a slight feeling of uncertainty in our mind we get worried, even sometimes if we aren’t sure of what it’s about. This is why defining what you exactly are afraid of may make you feel better in your mind.

💡Uncertainty is probably one of the biggest human fears, there’s a study by radiology professor Issidoros Sarinopoulos that shows the same. In the experiment before neutral pictures an “O” was shown and before and an “X” just before negative photos. However, they started freaking out when they were shown a “?” before an image because they didn't know what to expect; when asked what do they think the picture will be, most participants responded by saying something threatening, scary, or negative will appear.💡

It shows our fear of the unknown.

There have also been experiments showing that we try and rationalize our decisions and our current path, and so even the thought of changing our course can bring chaos to the mind.

Many of us don’t take up opportunities that come our way, even though we know it's good for us, because we don’t go out of the normal into something new.

Many people despite valuing their creativity, don’t have a very high openness to experience, myself included. However, openness to experiences is one of the most extensively studied traits of creative people. To transcend the normal, which is what creative people often do, you need to be open to something new.

However, change is inevitable, as the quote goes "change is the only constant in life.” And as the Buddha put it- “Change is never painful, only resistance to change is painful.”

Our circumstances, the people around us, our challenges, problems, and the world(especially fast now) are constantly changing. Even our beliefs keep changing as we get older or mature and learn.

This is why we should open ourselves to change, sometimes even take a few steps to explore the unknown and be ready to take up opportunities.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.

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