How to Deal with Uncertainty

"The twenty-first century -- when everything is possible and nothing is certain, ..." was how Vaclav Havel, the president of the Czech Republic, described our time. Paradoxically, one of the few certainties of our time is that nothing can be certain anymore.

Today, yesterday's certainties like "jobs for life", "a secure retirement", "your house is your best investment", "trust your politicians (or your priests)", "your university degree will guarantee you a good job", "if I give my best, my company will be there for me", "my child's future will be better than mine", are no more.

Technological acceleration is the driving force of the uncertainty. Computers are now able to process over thirteen trillion calculations a second. This awesome computing power defies understanding. (To count to thirteen trillion, one number a second, would take you 1,300,000 YEARS!) Heaven knows where computing will be a decade from now.

Our technology is changing and as a result our organizations are changing, our behaviors are changing, even our climate is changing. Everything is changing! So if everything is changing and nothing is certain anymore, what can one do to keep balanced and stay centred, healthy, and successful?

It is necessary to appreciate that our bodymind's automatic reaction to change and uncertainty is stress. As a result, our stress arousal system is "on" all the time, a natural security reaction to constant demands to adapt to newness. Therefore, in our post-modern digital world, our bodymind almost never properly breaks out of a chronic low level stress.

Because we're used to being this way all the time, we are unconscious of it. We just let the increased cortisol, blood pressure, blood sugar, muscle tension, breathing rate, cholesterol level, create an on-going wear and tear upon every organ and system in our bodymind.

Through processes well understood by medical science, this aggravated assault upon the body and mind leads to the all too many health conditions that afflict us all to varying degrees, is extremely costly to competitive companies, and threatens to bankrupt our health care system.

To cope with the uncertainty and strain imposed by a turbulent environment, we must build up an internal base of stability. We may not be able to control what's happening "out there" but we all can learn how to quiet and centre ourselves, renew our being, and replenish our core. This can be done by accessing uncommon rest and recuperation through "the relaxation response", a measurable and natural shift in the mind and body triggered by a one-pointed focusing of the mind.

When simple mental techniques and breathing exercises are practiced several times, the ability to reduce the volume of the stress becomes progressively easier. Within a few weeks, most people acquire the ability to confidently release themselves from the unremitting strain caused by stress and discover for themselves the very real benefits of deliberately self-calming.

They feel renewed and more in control, able to respond rather than just react. They feel better about themselves. Their ability to function effectively improves on almost every index of measurement. They are able to retain an uncommon balance and well-being.

If you're concerned about how to prepare yourself (and those for whom you are responsible) for life in the new digital world that's quickly emerging, it's extremely wise to learn how to properly unwind. That's probably a certainty.

Eli Bay, the founder and director of the Relaxation Response Institute in Toronto is a corporate trainer, professional speaker and host of two award-winning public television series teaching practical stress control He can be reached at elibay@elibay.com or (416) 932-2784.

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