Insecurity and initiative in uncertain times

No, we are not rational: we do not go through life simply entering data into a mental spreadsheet that calculates the pros and cons and easily spits out a result, updated with every step we take. Nor do we act simply according to what is before our eyes. No: we have memories of good times past, we glimpse their return even in stormy weather, we act to blow the clouds away and bring clear skies. If we know we are in atmospheric depression, we can create our own high-pressure zone.

Or, conversely, we have memories of bad weather, we anticipate the worst storm, and we have already decided in advance never to set foot in the water again, no matter how blue the sky is.

The difference between rationality and humanity is that beyond the blue or red value on the spreadsheet, everything we do has two other values, emotional and therefore absolutely personalized. How the body registers our mental states varies not along a single scale ranging from good to bad, but along two parallel scales. One goes from neutral to pleasure and satisfaction; the other from neutral to distressing, terrifying, and reckless. Therefore, it is perfectly common for something to be very good... and very bad at the same time. So, which way do you lean?

In uncertain times, our irrational decision-making process is a double-edged sword, or a tightrope from which you can fall in either direction. Temperament is always a major factor—or simply an observation of how each brain tends to function. Some people, who place greater importance on the prospect of clear skies, are called optimists. Others cannot shake the idea that clouds are always lurking.

But tendency is not destiny, especially when you have a prefrontal cortex and with it the possibility of insight. Taking control of our anxieties and not letting ourselves be locked behind a door is always possible – and it all starts with becoming aware of the situation. On the inside, what moves us or holds us back; and on the outside, the source of uncertainty.

Uncertainty is a lack of guarantees; without guarantees, we do not feel in control; without a sense of control, the brain feels powerless, incapable. Uncertain times, therefore, are an invitation to paralysis – for those who lack initiative.

Fortunately, this can also be learned. Not being merely the result of our circumstances has its advantages. We are not passive beings, but potentially proactive ones. We have initiative, by definition the ability to initiate actions despite the lack of a current that carries us along without effort. Or even despite contrary currents.

Extracted from Suzana Herculano-Houzel (2025) Neuroscience of Everyday Life, originally published in Folha de São Paulo in September 2020