Name The Certainty Demand
Write what anxiety says you must know before acting.
Certainty loop
Anxiety About Uncertainty
Anxiety about uncertainty is the feeling that you cannot move until you know enough. The problem is that anxiety keeps raising the standard for "enough." The next useful step is usually action with reasonable uncertainty.
Notice The Cost
Checking and waiting may reduce life more than the uncertainty does.
Set A Good-Enough Rule
Choose what information is actually needed for the real stakes.
Take A Reversible Step
Start with a step you can adjust instead of waiting for certainty.
A Good-Enough Decision Rule
- Write the decision or worry in one sentence.
- List the information you truly need, not everything you could know.
- Choose one reversible next step.
- Delay extra checking for twenty minutes after acting.