Uncertainty or Unhappiness: What To Choose?

“In an information-drenched society that tempts us to choose unhappiness over uncertainty, it is helpful to remember that one of the key gifts of travel has always been uncertainty itself.”
— Rolf Potts

I was just listening to Tim Ferriss’ interview with Rolf Potts on vagabonding and travelling. Ferriss read the quote above out loud, and it really struck a chord with me.

I’ve been living in Germany for 15 years now, and if there’s one thing that can be said about this people as a whole is that Germans love their security. Everything has to have been planned for. They are avid insurance takers. The Parliament here hates situations for which there is no law almost as much as nature hates a void.

As such, the German society is overly biased towards certainty over happiness. And it shows: Berlin with its rough manners may be a bit special, but it’s quite rare to see people smile on the street. Is Germany a prime example of a society that has traded happiness for certainty?

I’m rather optimistic by nature, which helps tremendously in dealing with uncertainty. But as I grow older (turning 42 soon), I do sense that I have to nurture this trait, lest it naturally erodes. With a family and some debt, there is quite a bit to lose and quite a few people to harm if things go south too badly, so I guess it’s a natural tendency. Still, it’s worth exercising, just like it’s worth exercising the body and the mind.

Strong experiences are prime learning moments. I realised through owning a business that, in addition to being good at dealing with (some) uncertainty, I also do quite well when I’m not fully in control. However, faced with both at the same time is a real ordeal for me. It literally robs me of my sleep. This was the case when I had to file for insolvency, which literally meant handing over my business to the court for them to decide what would happen next, including what would happen to all my customers’ personal whisky casks (in the end, every cask was delivered to their owner, to my great relief.)

So maybe that’s the next thing to practice: loss of control and uncertainty combined. Just enough to get comfortable with this. Life will throw more of these situations my way, I’m quite certain. Might as well get ready for it.

Hopefully, I can then still be happy when it happens.