“If you develop the absolute sense of certainty that powerful beliefs provide, then you can accomplish just about anything, including things that other people are sure are impossible.” – William Lyon Phelps
Certainty is a double-edged sword. It can propel someone to incredible heights as it can stifle knowledge and enlightenment. Certainty is necessary when daring is essential and the bar is raised to the limit. But that same sense of certainty will also close the mind to what could be an important and vital contribution.
Like any power tool, certainty, used at the right time and for the right purpose, can be extremely effective. However, when used excessively or poorly, it can do far more harm than good.
The best metaphor to represent how certainty should be used can be found in the Olympic diver. First, the athlete will stand on the board and reflect on each aspect of the dive that he or she is about to take. Once this is done, all doubts are put aside, total certainty is installed and the dive is executed with total confidence.
It could be said that there are two types of certainty. There would be certainty in action and certainty in conviction. Certainty in action is the kind of certainty that is needed when planning and reflection have been done and the time for execution has come. That is the certainty that has been dubbed “The Winner’s Edge.”
On the other hand, certainty in conviction is anathema to the open-minded attitude. The certainty in the conviction transforms a belief into a dogma. That is, something that is based solely on faith and is not subject to investigation.
To learn, develop and grow, we need to question everything. Robert Persig said: “Some scientific truths seem to last centuries, others less than a year. Scientific truth is not a dogma, good for eternity, but a temporary quantitative entity that can be studied like anything else.”
Self-actualization requires an open-minded attitude about everything. The instant that certainty about anything appears, further learning related to that topic automatically stops. In the thought process, an inquisitive doubt is always superior to a naive certainty.
On the other hand, when the time comes for action, boldness is the order of the day. No more time for doubts and misgivings. Those should have already been resolved during the planning process. Once a decision has been made, there is no room or time for hesitation or uncertainty. It is time to act.
There may be certainty about the intention and the objective, but not necessarily about the ways and means. In other words, certainty can apply to confidence in reaching a goal, but not necessarily in the course of action that will be taken to reach that goal. A general can be absolutely sure and confident that he will win the war, but he may not be sure what tactics he will have to employ to do so.
Certainty, although not often seen as such, is actually an emotion. An emotion that can provide untold energy when harnessed properly. That energy in many cases can make the difference between success and failure. Today’s battles are not won by miles of field but by inches divided. That is why all available resources must be exploited and exploited; and that includes certainty.
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu says: “The good fighters of yesteryear first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat and then waited for the opportunity to defeat the enemy.” That, in a nutshell, is what certainty is all about.