The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty that you can comfortably live with.

The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty that you can comfortably live with. – Tony Robbins and here

What do you mean, you don't know if the customer is coming this week or next week?

What does that mean?
I think that this is an interesting quote. It links the quality of your life to the amount of uncertainty you can handle. I understand that if you have more uncertainty than you can handle, you will be too frantic to enjoy your life. If it is smaller than the amount that you can handle, you will likely be calm and collected, and be able to enjoy your life more completely.

What I also find interesting is that buried in this quote, I perceive a challenge. To me, it’s saying if you can tolerate more uncertainty, you will be able to enjoy a higher quality of life. This makes more sense if you look at it the other way around. What quality of life does someone have who has a low tolerance for uncertainty when compared to someone who can roll with the changes life inevitably throws at us?

Why is the ability to handle uncertainty important?  
Uncertainty, which is just when variety stops by unannounced, is the spice of life. Do you do this, or that? Eat here or there? Those are mundane forms of uncertainty. The really exciting ones (or dreadful, depending on if you’re a half-empty or half-full person) are when something completely unexpected happens.

A promotion at work, or being laid off would qualify. Getting married or starting a family would also qualify. Having an old friend drop in because they were in town would qualify as well. If you run a business, is there ever any certainty, or do you live in a world of varying shades of uncertainty?

If you can’t handle at least a little uncertainty, you’re in for a rough life, right? Some people minimize uncertainty by having a daily ritual, timed down to the second. Even then, uncertainty still lurks, things can go wrong. What then? It might be wise to become more tolerant to uncertainty.

Where can I apply this in my life?
To me, there are two major pathways towards achieving this balance. At one end we would reduce the uncertainty in your life until you are just within the edge of comfort. The other is to improve your tolerance of uncertainty.

In reality, we should probably try to do a little of each, as unnecessary uncertainty doesn’t appear to add much to our quality of life, and there is a minimum amount of uncertainty that simply cannot be avoided, right?

To me, minimizing uncertainty comes naturally. I’m curious and inquisitive, as well as mildly risk averse. This means that when I plan, I tend to have as little uncertainty as possible. I’m also a pragmatist, so I try to build in allowances for the unexpected, because it’s one of the few things you can expect to happen on a regular basis. 8)

In the rest of my life (the things that aren’t planned), it’s different. I grew up in a fairly tightly run family. While we weren’t scheduled down to the minute, we were expected to get things done in a timely manner. I toned down my control freak days when my first kid came along. That loud noise in the corner of the room had it’s own schedule and refused to listen to reason. That helped me loosen up quite a bit.

What about you, where more sensitive to uncertainty? If you are a bit compulsive about cleaning and dusting, have you ever asked yourself why you are that way? Do you have a fear of having dirt or dust in the house? Is it a ritual, a habit, or a compulsion?

Are you still performing childhood rituals that have you still trying to please your parents? If it’s the former, perhaps you should seek qualified help to ease your stress levels. If it’s the latter, perhaps you should remember that you’re no longer beholden to the old ways. Unless you’re still at home, in which case, you aren’t, right?

At one point, I was fairly compulsive about keeping a tidy apartment. Special care was given before visits by my mom. Eventually, I realized that I was no longer living at home. This was MY place, and therefore, my rules. If she didn’t like how clean it was, she knew where the mop and broom were. When I made this change, my ability to handle uncertainty of cleanliness (a spill or muddy footprints) went way up, as did my quality of life.

To me, dealing with uncertainty is all about relaxing and having a sense of humor about life’s trials and tribulations. Uncertainty will happen. There’s no way to change that. Take a deep breath and deal with what life has handed you. If you get lemons, you know what to do, right? But what if life gives you peaches? 8)

From: Twitter, @MastinKipp
confirmed at : http://unleashyourinnerstrength.com/2010/04/09/tony-robbins-quotes-incantations/ 4th quote (There are many other good ones are there as well)
Photo by brianna.lehman