The worst part of your job might be the work you’re NOT doing. The deal you have
By Abi Harmon · October 31, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
The worst part of your job might be the work you’re NOT doing.
The deal you haven’t closed. The decision you haven’t made. The email you’re waiting on. The future you can’t quite get your arms around.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as I navigate building businesses, managing partnerships, and the general chaos of entrepreneurship.
There’s a fascinating body of research on something called "intolerance of uncertainty."
Essentially, how our brains respond to not knowing what’s next.
Our brains are prediction machines, constantly trying to anticipate outcomes. When we can’t predict what happens next, uncertainty can trigger the same threat-monitoring systems that keep us alert to danger.
And that constant scanning? It’s, sigh, exhausting.
We spend so much time talking about burnout in the context of workload, hours, and boundaries. But I wonder how much of our exhaustion comes from the mental energy spent trying to control outcomes that aren’t actually in our control.
Particularly so for founders and leaders, where ambiguity is pretty much a permanent operating condition.
What's cool is uncertainty tolerance is trainable. (And yes, I do it!)
THIS is a far more valuable performance skill than another productivity hack.