It is funny how certain we feel when we promote a product on Facebook, Instagram, or Google. We think “hmmm, I have checked all the boxes and now the technology will do the work.” And indeed, technology does its work. Our expectation is met. Our love for certainty increases with each such experience. We hit “send” on WhatsApp and we know whether the message is delivered. The blue tick has done more harm than good.
So, why this fascination for certainty? In essence, it is our attempt to control the pain around uncertainty.
Even experiences such as leisure are planned to their micro details. Sucking out fun and the element of surprise from it. It is as if we are scared to confront the uncomfortable. The feelings of anxiety, euphoria, elation, or adrenalin seem to be overwhelming for us.
We are in constant search for assurances of our decisions. Our every move. Whether in relationships or work, we are bombarded with the stress of getting it right. Not making a mistake. Getting that makeup, that recipe, or that workshop right. Planning, planning, and planning to death.
We have taken the idea that man is the maker of his own destiny to an extreme. We have ruled out the role of a greater element of the unknown. “The invisible hand”, the variable that we can’t factor in.
And yet, it is this invisible hand, that affects our results.
While we work on creating perfect experiences for our tribe, it is a disservice to think of our models as the last truth. It is the spontaneity that gives rise to new ideas. No revolutionary idea was ever conceived through the tried-and-tested protocol.