Embracing uncertainty

Most people hate & fear uncertainty. It causes such stress & anxiety that we often choose certain surrender over doubt, becoming passive, dependent, addicted – & more anxious than ever. Doubling down on the certainties promised by technology & micro-management only makes things worse, leaving no opportunity for innovation, adaptation or invention. Artists live with uncertainty constantly – but instead of waiting for the future, they run towards making it, with agency & freedom. What can we learn from them, about facing into a future that grows more uncertain daily? At a time when organizations of all kinds crave innovation but complain their people lack creativity & initiative, the arts have never been so essential to our future. We may not all be artists, but we can learn to think like them. Margaret Heffernan makes a compelling argument for the vital integration of art into all aspects of our lives.