Anxiety Can Move Us to Action

By Adam Grant
The New York Times
November 12, 2024

"Acknowledging that the future is unknowable can bring some comfort when it feels as if the world is shattered. It can also offer a dose of humility sorely needed in a chaotic world…

“Our struggles to predict the future aren’t limited to events. They apply to our feelings, too. In the heat of the moment, we overindex on our anguish today and underestimate our capacity to adapt tomorrow. Political defeat is an example of what psychologists call ambiguous loss. We may be mourning the death of our hopes and dreams, but it’s temporary. We forget that unlike people, plans can be resurrected…

“Pain and sorrow are never permanent. They evolve over time, and ideally they help us make sense, find meaning and fuel change…

“Anxiety about what comes next can help jolt us out of complacency.”

Adam Grant, a contributing Opinion writer, is an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

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