How tolerance for uncertainty changes our character and attitude towards people

In the 1980s, HIV was hardly mentioned in the Soviet Union. It was believed that this is a disease of prostitutes, homosexuals and drug addicts in the West, but in our country it cannot exist in principle. Therefore, ordinary people knew little about it, doctors heard that the virus was dangerous for people in Africa and capitalist countries, and health officials ignored it. As a result, the situation with HIV acquired the character of a nuclear chain reaction - the silence led to explosive consequences.

One of these tragedies was an outbreak in a children's hospital in Elista in 1988. Then the symptoms were found in the baby and his mother, and after the investigation, 79 people were infected, 76 of whom were children. Local residents began to persecute, they called for the families of essentially their neighbors to be placed in isolation wards and even “liquidated”. From Kalmykia, the virus entered the neighboring Rostov and Volgograd regions, and then spread further across the country. The series came out last year

Zero patientbased on these events.

Countsthat now in Russia there are about 2 million infected, half of whom do not know about their disease. And at the same time, the myth about “homosexuals and drug addicts” is still alive, HIV-positive people are harassed, they are afraid, as if they can infect with their eyes. So they are kicked out medical institutions, recreation areas and with work.

But why is this happening? Why is civilized man fear takes on animal traits? The problem is the inability to accept new conditions and the lack of information.

What is uncertainty tolerance and what does it have to do with it

Uncertainty tolerance is a human ability act in the face of a lack of information and at the same time not feel uncomfortable. The less tolerance, the more frightening a person is to do something in unpredictable circumstances and the stronger he will resist change. Since the future seems hostile, such a person will be more anxious and aggressive, he will oppose any dissent and welcome strict rules for everyone.

Accordingly, with a high tolerance for uncertainty, anxiety is less, which means that a person is more tolerant towards himself and people. It is believed that this is usually associated with the development emotional intelligence and empathy.

How we react to incomprehensible situations is highly dependent on the culture in which we live. Sociologist Geert Hofstede offered uncertainty tolerance index, which can be used to describe different communities. It shows the extent to which a particular culture gives its members a sense of calm or anxiety in new, unexpected, different from the usual situations.

Uncertainty avoidant cultures try to reduce the risk of such situations by strict norms of behavior, laws and regulations, condemnation of deviations in opinion and belief in absolute truth. Cultures that tolerate uncertainty are more tolerant of opinions that differ from what they are used to. They tend to introduce fewer rules, and in terms of philosophy and religion, they rely on empirical experience and relativism, which implies the relativity of knowledge.

What Makes You Avoid Uncertainty

From the point of view of evolution, any organism must eat, not be eaten and leave offspring. These tasks are much easier to complete if you know all the inputs, because in harsh wild conditions, one mistake can lead to disaster. So people literally programmed resist change.

It's also about how our brain works. The surrounding reality is full of stimuli: we feel smells, colors, sounds, touch people, animals, objects. Our brain, like an analytical machine, must process all incoming signals. Most of the conclusions can be obtained in the background thanks to repetitions. Therefore, without hesitation, we peel a banana or go the beaten track to work. As soon as the familiar picture collapses, the brain urgently needs to develop a new plan of action. This makes him uncomfortable and protests against any change.

Why you need to know about tolerance for uncertainty

Knowing this ability will help you evaluate your actions differently. If you understand that you are uncomfortable with unpredictability, you can evaluate your actions more objectively. For example, you will see that some of your solutions were dictated by the desire to escape from an incomprehensible situation, and not by any practical considerations. So you can track these impulses and slow them down if they interfere with life.

In addition, you will be able to look at the people around you differently. Instead of being angry at a person who aggressively pushes an outdated point of view, you will feel empathy. For him, the deviation from the course is so frightening that he simply cannot accept your position. The same is with the grandmothers at the entrance, who condemn the bright color of the teenager's hair. As people with a low tolerance for uncertainty, they perceive any changes as a threat to their own security.

Knowing about tolerance for uncertainty will help you find your team. If people in a company (or even in a state) have a hard time accepting changes, they need authority and a set of rules, they do not tolerate another opinions, then a person suitable for them should move along a beaten career track and not stand out in exchange for conditional stability. If growth is important to you, advocacy, you are not afraid to be different, you may be happy elsewhere.

What should be the tolerance for uncertainty

Obviously, the higher the tolerance for uncertainty, the easier it is for a person to live. Because you can't control everything and save yourself from change. Low tolerance makes people cling to the past and look with horror at the future, which will come anyway.

To feel the difference look on 10 differences between societies with weak and strong degrees of uncertainty avoidance by Geert Hofstede.

In societies with low tolerance for uncertaintywhere there is control through tradition, power and religion, the same out-of-the-ordinary events occur as in others. Avoidance only prevents you from adapting, accepting a new reality and solving emerging problems. For example, in North Korea and Turkmenistan for a very long time denied coronavirus, but closing your eyes does not help reduce the number of cases. An interesting paradox has arisen: there is no covid, but cases of pneumonia became so many.

How to increase your tolerance for uncertainty

Do it can be very difficult. After all, you need to learn how to control fear, to convince the worried brain.

Don't be hard on yourself, take small steps towards your goal and call for help. cognitive behavioral therapy (KPT). If we accept that all our thoughts, feelings and actions are interconnected, by changing one, you can change the other. It is enough to pretend that you can already cope with anxiety.

Follow your thoughts

First, try to remember everything you do to try to feel more confident or avoid uncertainty. For example, ask someone else's opinion, double-checking, looking for other sources of information, postponing or even avoiding some decisions. For best effect, write it all down.

Correlate such actions with specific situations and commit them to memory or a list. Anxious events can be buying a gift, planning a vacation, or even picking out clothes for a picnic.

This way you will understand what actions are dictated by fear, and you will be able to better track anxiety situations.

Practice

If you have already figured out in which situations you find it difficult to cope with uncertainty, try choosing simple ones and acting as if you are calm. For example, try not to re-read emails before sending them or look for reviews before going to a movie.

Exercise regularly and over time you will feel more comfortable in these situations. When this happens, move on to working through more difficult situations. In short, act like you're in the gym when you want to build muscle, and uncertainty becomes accepted as a normal part of life.

Analyze your feelings

If you find it difficult to survive some situation that cannot be controlYou can try asking yourself questions. For example:

• What do I feel now?
• How does this anxiety affect my condition, relationships with people, ability to work and engage in hobbies?
• What do I need to do?

With the help of analysis, it will be easier to deal with uncertainty. If tension builds up, take a break.

Assess the objective signs and discuss possible options

To make it easier to make a decision, try to evaluate objective data, not the disturbing thoughts your mind suggests. Try asking yourself:

• What can happen?
• What has already happened in similar situations?
• What is the worst possible outcome? How likely is this to happen?
• Is there a way to deal with possible negative consequences?
• If I don't do it, what can I lose?

Accept that things can go wrong

Not all situations can be run away, we still have to live in uncertainty and make decisions. Excessive anxiety will only hurt. Remember that even if you ever make a mistake, most likely you can you handle it, as always managed.

In important situations, such as buying a car, you can try to collect as much information as possible. But if we are talking about buying a shirt, then even if you later regret the impulsive decision, there is nothing to worry about.