Via The Knowledge Project Podcast

Ian Wilson, a GE executive, said 'No amount of information is going to allay the fact that all of your knowledge is about the past and all of your decisions are about the future.' It's just a fundamental reality of life. Knowledge is purely about the past and what has been learned. Decisions are purely about the future and what cannot be predicted. So you have to become okay with that reality. In a lot of ways, the most powerful form of mental toughness, the most resilient form of preparation, is a mindset that can handle uncertainty.

— James Clear Shares Secrets to Habits, at 19:04

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James Clear, best-selling author of Atomic Habits, argues that "the most powerful form of mental toughness, the most resilient form of preparation is a mindset that can handle uncertainty."

Use the A-B-Z framework when you're venturing into new things:

• A is an honest assessment of your current situation; Z is where you ultimately want to end up; and B is your next step. You only need to know A, B, and Z—not steps C through Y
• Accept that trying anything new means you're unqualified by definition. Some level of uncertainty comes with anything new.
• Trust that whatever happens, you'll figure it out

Ian Wilson's insight captures this: "No amount of information is going to allay the fact that all of your knowledge is about the past and all of your decisions are about the future." This is a fundamental reality of life.

To develop a mindset that can tackle uncertainty: start by practicing it in small ways; accumulate the mindset through a series of small experiences of public failure and recovery. Life offers many opportunities to learn this way; you experience this in sports, business, or any domain where you repeatedly reach, fail, learn that life goes on, and keep striving.

What matters most isn't to always keep winning, but rather to always keep striving. "Rather than asking, 'What can I succeed on?' ask 'What is worth reaching for?'"