How to Experience Peace in Uncertainty

It’s hard to experience peace in uncertainty. If I always knew how the chips would fall life would be easy and I would be happy, right? I’m not sure if certainty really leads to bliss, but I do know it’s possible to experience peace in uncertainty.

Know That Certainty Is a Myth To Find Peace in Uncertainty

We all want to be certain. We crave predictability. In fact, our natural gravitation toward what we know often keeps abuse victims in abusive situations. We are comfortable with the familiar, but that comfort doesn’t always lead to happiness. And familiarity does not guarantee certainty. In fact, nothing guarantees certainty.

In my experience, I’ve found genuine freedom when I realized the myth of certainty. Regardless of whether or not you have a mental illness, life is full of unknowns that are hard to accept. Acceptance is vital for peace. Once you accept the uncertainty you can be free from the fear of it. You no longer have to be trapped by the familiar.

Release the Need for Certainty to Find Peace in Uncertainty

The next step to finding peace in uncertainty is to release your need for certainty. It’s important to release your desire to have all of the answers. Release this need to God, your higher power, the universe, or whatever makes you feel free. The importance of surrender is a concept in the 12-step recovery movement, but it is also important for us all to practice, whether or not you have an addiction.

We need to recognize that we are not in control. And then we need to let go of our need to be in control. Letting go is central to finding peace.

Relish in the Peace of Uncertainty

It’s seems silly to celebrate the unknown—to relish in uncertainty. But the truth is so much of our happiness depends on having a healthy perspective. You can choose to dwell on all the unknowns or you can marvel at all the possibilities of what may be. You can choose to throw your hands in the air and say, “This is it!” Or you can lift you arms to the universe and in awe say, “Wow, this is it!” The choice is yours.

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of days where I choose to be anxious and overwhelmed. There are plenty of days where the chemicals in my brain seem to make that choice for me. But every day I try to catch myself and remind myself that certainty is a myth, that I need to release my need for certainty, and that I need to relish in the peace of uncertainty.

I don’t make the right choice every day, but today I am choosing peace.

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