Simone Stolzoff

So the rise of the internet and mobile phones has created the expectation that answers should be readily available.

I know that maybe 10 years ago, if I didn't know the name of a given actor, I might have been okay.

But now I feel an almost involuntary need to reach into my pocket.

And the second thing that does is it robs us of the practice of sitting with what we don't know.

We are not as good at tolerating that uncertainty as we used to be.

And so in terms of dealing with that ambient uncertainty, the first thing that I'll say is that when we are certain about some aspects of our life, it makes it easier to hold uncertainty in others.

So I give the advice of finding your anchors.

What are the things in your life that will remain constant amidst all that is changing?

Maybe it's a commitment to live in a particular city or to a particular person.

If you're running a business, maybe it's your company values or your commitment to serve a particular customer.

But when you are clear about the things in your life that will be those sort of boulders amidst all the changing winds, it makes it easier to hold the uncertainty in other aspects of your life.

Yeah, thanks for saying that.

I'll give one example from my own personal life.

So my grandma recently passed away.

She was 99 and a half years old.

And I'm Jewish.

And in the Jewish tradition, there is this ritual of what you should do in the seven days after someone passes away.

It's called Shiva.

And I think one thing that's really nice about it is amidst all of the uncertainty of not knowing what to do after you lose a loved one, here is a list of instructions.

On day one, you invite people over to the house to bring food.