The hidden cost of seeking clarity
The hidden cost of seeking clarity
By Anne-Laure Le Cunff | Published: 2025-06-11 18:15:00 | Source: Smart Skills – Big Think
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When I left my job at Google, I told myself to make time to explore. But within weeks, I had jumped into building a startup — not because of a strong fit, but because sitting in uncertainty seemed impossible. So I threw myself at the first socially sanctified opportunity.
And for a while, it worked. I had a polished presentation, plan, and answer when people asked me what I was building. But underneath this apparent clarity there was a growing sense of disconnect between what I was doing and what actually mattered to me.
Ultimately, the pressure to stay committed to a path that didn’t feel right became harder to bear than the uncertainty you tried to avoid. My co-founder and I parted ways, and I finally allowed myself to ask what I actually wanted to explore next.
We often take clarity as a sign that we are on the right path. But not all clarity is equal. Sometimes clarity comes gradually through curiosity, exploration, and reflection. Other times, it arrives too quickly, driven by anxiety, offering the comfort of certainty without real consensus.
What do we lose when we reach clarity before we are truly ready to find it?
Why do we rush toward clarity?
From a neuroscience perspective, uncertainty is not only uncomfortable, it can feel threatening. When the outcomes are unknown, the amygdala activates, triggering stress responses similar to those triggered by physical danger.
One psychological phenomenon that helps explain this reaction is: Cognitive closureIt was first noticed by social psychologist Arie Kruglanski in the 1990s. It refers to our brain’s tendency to search for specific answers as quickly as possible, even if those answers are incomplete or inaccurate.
It’s a coping mechanism: a way to resolve ambiguity and restore a sense of clarity so we can feel safe again.
In the short term, the clarity generated by anxiety alleviates the discomfort of not knowing. But in the long run, it can narrow our thinking, reduce flexibility, and make it more difficult to deal with change. We overcommit to jobs and relationships that don’t suit us. We over-plan rather than experiment. We confuse certainty with alignment.
How to avoid the clarity trap
The clarity created by anxiety gives us quick answers, often at the expense of better answers. It provides comfort, but it is not the solution. But the alternative is not hesitation or confusion. It’s a different way of communicating uncertainty.
The clarity born of curiosity emerges more slowly through exploration. It’s the kind of clarity that develops when we’re willing to not know for a while — to ask questions, try different approaches, and observe results without jumping to conclusions.
While cognitive closure closes the window of exploration too early, curiosity increases our tolerance for prediction error: the gap between what we expect and what we experience. This increased tolerance gives us the flexibility to update our mental models, remain responsive to new information, and make better decisions over time.
So, how do we resist the urge to resolve uncertainty too quickly, and instead learn how to stay with the questions a little longer? These three practices can help shift your relationship to uncertainty:
1. Name the stress
Simply labeling feelings (“I feel anxious because I don’t know what’s next” or “I’m worried about losing income”) can help regulate your stress response. This technique is called Emotional labelingActivates your prefrontal cortex and gives you more space to respond and think carefully about the challenge at hand.
2. Uncertainty in time frame
Instead of rushing towards a clear answer, give yourself a specific period where clarity is not the goal. It takes a month to explore a question, and a few weeks to run Small experimentsor a specific number of conversations that must be held before a decision is made. This time-bound approach is easier to tolerate than uncertainty indefinitely and can lead to better, more aligned decisions.
3. Capture your curiosity
Jot down exciting thoughts and conversations that give you energy. This is simple Field notes Build metacognitive awareness (understanding your own thoughts) and help you notice patterns of curiosity. Over time, these patterns can lead to a deeper sense of clarity and help you course correct if you commit too early.
That startup you jumped into? It didn’t last. But it taught me something important: Clarity from anxiety rarely lasts.
The kind of clarity you can trust emerges over time, often when you stop trying to force it, and instead emerge in the space that curiosity creates.
So, the next time you find yourself in a moment of not-knowing, consider this: How can you stop chasing clarity, and instead make room for it to emerge?
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