Anxiety is generated by uncertainty. Fear of the unknown promotes doubt and insecurity. What we don’t know can hurt us…but only if we allow it to be so.
An important part of the survival process is knowing the difference between what we need and what we want. That knowledge helps dictate the effort we will put into pursuing one or the other.
There are times when needs and wants overlap. It’s at those points where decision lacks difficulty. More often than not, though, we encounter challenge in choice.
Too often we know what we don’t want while lacking certainty about what we do want. That can result in poor choices. Too often we will discard something once thought valuable without due consideration of a replacement to fill the void created. Too often we can be torn between determining whether something is a need or a want.
Rarely is there disappointment to be found in a need which is met but often a want can have a hollow and unfulfilling end. The energy and emotion expended in the pursuit can leave us unhappy.
Life is a learning process. There is much we will never know or understand. But it is vital that we grow as we go.
We should not fear our own ignorance…but we should be prepared to admit it and continually strive to overcome it.
Those who refuse to acknowledge their own limitations are condemning themselves to an angst filled existence. They will be anxious and unsure in almost every situation.
Uncertainty is inescapable but it need not be the ultimate impediment. What we do with what we know helps us confront and survive those things we do not know.
The key is self knowledge. The answer lies in what we choose to do with who we are and where we are.
Gary Bentley Counselling 