We have all had that moment in life where the future was uncertain. For some it was a moment of excitement before opening a present. For others it was a moment of anxiety while awaiting a final grade in a class.
Interestingly, both those moments of uncertainty triggered a similar electrochemical cocktail in the body, but our cognitive analysis of the situation elicited a different interpretation of the experience; excitement or anxiety.
Stanford neurobiologist Andrew Huberman has been studying vision and fear for over 20 years. His work concludes that excitement and anxiety are states of autonomic nervous system arousal that are designed to align metabolic demands with the situations we find ourselves in.
Anxiety coupled with uncertainty leads to fear, while excitement with uncertainty leads to curiosity. Our physiological state, and how we interpret it, influences how we see the world and respond to it.
Huberman’s research demonstrates that the state of anxiety causes a shift in our physical vision.
Pupils dilate, eyes focus, and the rest of the world becomes blurry. The anxiety actually controls the visual field and shifts the physiology into a sympathetic (fight or flight) state. Subconsciously we start to see the world from the perspective of a predator or prey. Further, our heart rate, blood pressure and breath rate all increase, alerting the brain that we have moved out of homeostasis.
The amygdala, a primitive and instinctual part of the brain, can hijack the entire system and we become reactive in response to environmental changes. In a sense, we lose control and everything feels uncertain.
Fortunately, humans have a prefrontal cortex which provides the cognitive capacity to rise above the primitive, reactive mechanisms of our physiology. We can consciously shift into a state of curiosity and create an openness to exploring new possibilities and adapting to change. And we can find ways to create stability and a feeling of certainty and control. This allows us to discover novel pathways from the present and into the future.
So if you are in a state of uncertainty and anxiety, and you want to take back control of your mind, there are two simple things you can do to create a feeling of certainty and embrace uncertainty to inspire curiosity.
But First, Let’s Make Tea!
I was working with the executive team of a large Fortune 500 aerospace engineering firm in the UK, helping them look 25 years into the future to explore new innovations and strategies to deal with the uncertainty of their industry. My main contact at the company worked in the innovation department, and he loved his English tea.
Before we did anything he would say, “but first, let’s make tea.” If we were about to plan out the details of a foresight session, review the session results for presentation, or develop a framework for scaling future intelligence throughout the organization, it always started with, “but first, let’s make tea.”
Personally, I wanted to get down to business…making tea seemed like a distraction from the task at hand. But in reality, making tea before doing important work, especially things that may trigger anxiety and uncertainty, is a brilliant idea.
Making tea is a simple task that you can complete within a short time frame. It has very clear and specific steps. And it has a clear and desirable outcome…warm liquid and caffeine in the body.
Making tea helps to establish certainty and manufactures stability in an uncertain environment. It can also entices us away from feeling anxiety, because typically it is familiar and calming and brings back memories of all the enjoyable moments of having tea in the past.
Interestingly, Hershey’s company found that during Covid lockdowns, many people turned to baking as a form of “self-care.” Again, baking is a simple, step-by-step process that can be completed in a short-time frame and yields clear, desirable results…a warm, chocolate-chip cookie for example. Similarly, athletes use simple step-by-step process in the form of habits or rituals, to manufacture certainty within the context of uncertain performance outcomes.
So when we feel anxious about an uncertain future, simply stop and make tea. Or do any activity that is familiar, with specific steps that lead to a certain outcome in a short-time frame. This will help to create an environment of certainty, even within the uncertainty, and shifts the physiology into a state that gives you more control of your cognitive and emotional resources.
Now Take a Second to Look Up
In the movie, “Don’t Look Up”, there is a large object hurtling through space on a path to destroy the earth. People are told “don’t look up”, and to just ignore the uncertainty of their fate. The movie highlights how a world of constant distraction, within a background of uncertainty and anxiety can lead us on a pathway to self-destruction.
Oftentimes when we have uncertainty or anxiety, we want to be distracted. We try to ignore it, even though it is constantly whispering in our ear. So we turn on the TV, check social media, or play a game on our computer. We think these distractions might be distancing us from the uncertainty and anxiety, but they can result in the opposite.
Recall that anxiety leads to convergent eye patterns, where we focus on things that are close to. At the same time, convergent eye patterns can also lead to more anxiety. As we spend more and more of our time on computer screens, TVs and smartphones, our eyes are constantly in a convert, close-range focused pattern. Our distractions from uncertainty are simulating eye patterns associated with uncertainty and fear. Subconsciously driving us into a low-level sympathetic, fight or flight, state.
One simple thing we can do to disrupt this pattern is Look Up.
Looking up can seem risky because it disconnects us from the immediate environment and shifts our focus to the unknown. Yet, when the situation we find ourselves in feels uncertain or causes anxiety, the best thing we can do is Look Up. We move our eyes into a more divergent pattern, we expand the vision and the mind is free to wander.
As the mind wanders we activate more of the Default Mode Network (DMN) of the brain. This system allows for self-reflection, creativity, ah-ha moments, and long-term thinking. We start to see ourselves and the world differently and novel solutions to current problems emerge.
As we look up we consciously enter a state of uncertainty, but the anxiety gives way to a sense of curiosity and uncertainty becomes a place for play and improvisation.
At the same time the DMN helps us to bring attention to things that are most relevant to us, and allows us to sustain focus on them. We can more clearly distinguish the things that are distracting from the task at hand, from the things that are relevant and useful to deal with the challenges we face.
So, if you are feeling uncertainty and anxiety, take a moment and pause what you are doing. Set a timer for 3 – 5 minutes and just look up into the horizon and allow your mind to disconnect from the present and feel more relaxed.
Give your eyes a break from the divergent pattern that can lead to a sympathetic, stressful state. Allow the mind to wander into the future, where new opportunities can emerge.
Get Cozy With Uncertainty
The future has alway been uncertain. However, due to constant developments in AI and technology the world is exponentially changing. The uncertainty that was waiting for us in the future, now pervades the present. Getting cozy with that uncertainty is essential for thriving now and in the future.
When the uncertainty becomes overwhelming and anxiety starts to set in, just remember to pause and find those moments of peace….by simply making tea and looking up.
How does Andrew Huberman describe the relationship between anxiety, excitement, and the autonomic nervous system?
