Lawyers, Stress and The Navigation of Uncertainty
Lawyers, Stress and The Navigation of Uncertainty
Uncertainty is one of the most common causes of chronic stress. We are wired to want certainty. The thinking runs that the more predictability we have in our lives, the greater our chances of survival.
This is why we feel calm when we experience a high degree of certainty. The need for certainty is one of the reasons people rewatch the same TV show or film. It may be boring, but at least it feels safe because we know what is going to happen next.
When we experience the state of uncertainty our Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) kicks in and prepares us for fight, freeze or flight. In other words, we start to become stressed. If this state of stress persists and becomes chronic, our emotional and physical health are impacted along with our cognition.
Lawyers and VUCA
The modern-day challenge is that we exist in turbulent times where it feels as though there is an unprecedented and continuous level of uncertainty across all areas of our lives including health, finance, politics and nation security. This feeling is in part caused and exacerbated by 24/7 news that preys upon our inbuilt negativity bias.
Uncertainty is an inherent part of the lawyer’s working life. Uncertainty over whether you will get the case, win the case, get paid. Not to mention the many opportunities for curveballs being thrown in your direction by the client, other side or court.
Nevertheless, we will continue to exist and function in VUCA. VUCA stands for ‘Volatile’, ‘Uncertain’,’ Complex’, and ‘Ambiguous’. The United States Army War College was one of the first organizations to use the VUCA acronym, following the 9/11 attacks in 2001 and the term has since been adopted in the business and financial worlds.
“Markets are constantly in a state of uncertainty and flux and money is made by discounting the obvious and betting on the unexpected. ”
Sabre Tooth Tigers and Pandemics
For many, the pandemic was the first significant and persistent state of uncertainty they experienced. AI is another contemporary example of something that is moving quickly and constantly; its future potential having much uncertainty and fear surrounding it. The reality is that uncertainty has always been with us and always will.
It used to be the threat of Sabre Tooth Tigers and other predators. Nowadays uncertainty might come in the form of the threat of nuclear weapon wielding leaders or out of control technology.
Then there are the less dramatic but equally devastating unexpected events. While writing this post, close friends just found out their son had unexpectedly passed away. They did not see this tragic event coming.
Navigating Uncertainty
There are many effective strategies and practices for increasing the ability to manage and navigate uncertainty including mindset work, breathwork practices, shift and adapt techniques and HIIT workouts. These approaches help ensure that the fear response does not take over and keep a person in a state of perpetual stress.
Special Forces warriors are masters at navigating and thriving during extreme, high consequence conditions of uncertainty. It is not simply their planning for every eventuality, e.g. the extensive planning for the raid on Bin Laden’s compound. It is also the mental preparation they engage in including the use of mental rehearsals and self-talk management.
Jeff Boss, a former Navy SEAL awarded four Bronze Stars with Valor and two Purple Hearts, writes in his excellent book ‘Navigating Chaos’
“I’ve been fortunate in my life to have seen and experienced levels of performance that some people can only dream about, human achievements that bear no scientific explanation and no quantifiable evidence to explain how. And it all occurred under uncertain conditions.”
Resistance is Futile
For those mere mortals who do not have the time, inclination or knowledge to retrain their minds and nervous systems to embrace and thrive in conditions of uncertainty, the starting point is a recognition that uncertainty is here to stay and will continue to appear throughout our lives. In other words, we must expect the unexpected.
Resistance to uncertainty contributes to stress. This can manifest itself through an obsession with prediction and control. This does not mean one must always embrace uncertainty; albeit there are times when uncertainty can present an opportunity e.g. instability in the financial markets.
We simply need to acknowledge that uncertainty is and always has been one of life’s certainties that we unavoidably coexist with.
“Human spirit is the ability to face the uncertainty of the future with curiosity and optimism. It is the belief that problems can be solved, differences resolved. It is a type of confidence.”