This Harvard Business Review article talks about how our brain copes with uncertainty. The recent pandemic has caused much more elevation in anxiety due to unrelenting multifactorial assault on our bio-psycho-social issues. These threats lead to decreased motivation, focus, agility, cooperative behavior, self-control, sense of purpose, and meaning. Our working memory goes down, preventing us from making the right decision. The realistic expectation is to tell yourself that everything will work out but getting there will not be an easy journey. If you believe that nothing will go wrong and you will not have as many problems in your life, then you suffer from unrealistic optimism. Level of Construal theory describes more rewards when you focus on the bigger picture with enrichment to yourself or society. In a low level of Construal, we tend to focus on nearby things and in concrete planning. Think of your vacation when you planned a year before when all you anticipated was fun, building up cultural knowledge and relaxation. Now compare that to when you plan your flights, hotels, and restaurants bookings a few weeks before. Which one gives you more fun? The authors also advise us to follow everyday condor. We are worried about bruising feelings and damaging relationships with frank and truthful statements in our daily lives. However, far more significant damage happens when people operate in an environment that lacks transparency and empathy.
Then came the Pandemic: Our Brains Were Not Built for This Much Uncertainty