A Rational Attitude Towards Uncertainty

Here is a rational attitude which will help you cultivate high uncertainty tolerance and enable you to take calculated risks:

 

I want certainty that something will OR will not happen BUT I do not need certainty. We live in a world of probability where absolute certainty does not exist. I will do what I can do to influence events and I will take responsibility for controlling my attitude towards uncertainty. I will also think about the worst case scenario and ask “What is the worst case scenario and would that be merely a great inconvenience OR not survivable? No, the worst case scenario will surely be a royal inconvenience but not unbearable nor something I could not survive. Even if the worst case scenario were to happen to me I could still have some degree of happiness IF I choose to give myself that opportunity by holding attitudes that work in the real world and not blaming events for my emotional upset. I choose my emotional destiny and if I work at it every day I can make myself considerably more adaptable and functional to the conditions of reality as they exist and not as I ideally wish them to be.

​Note: I am a clinical psychologist with 27 years of experience using REBT and cognitive behavior therapy. I practice psychotherapy and train doctoral students in the practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Behavioral Health Center located within the department of psychiatry of the Perelman School of Medicine. I am an adjunct faculty member of New York University’s Steinhardt School in the department of Applied Psychology, and author of the soon to be released Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: A Newcomer’s Guide. I have a private practice in Philadelphia. I am available for psychotherapy, coaching, and professional training and consultation in person or by Skype. Feel free to contact me or join my Intermittent Reinforcement email list and get started learning Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy today.

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