Living with so much uncertainty is hard. Human beings crave information about the future in the same way we crave food, safety, and other primary rewards. Our brains perceive ambiguity as a threat and try to protect us by diminishing our ability to focus on anything other than creating certainty.
Research shows that job uncertainty, for example, tends to take a more significant toll on our health than actually losing our job. Similarly, research participants who were told that they had a 50 percent chance of receiving a painful electric shock felt far more anxious and agitated than participants who believed they were definitely going to receive the shock.
