BDG Blogs
Ambiguity – Thy name is Enigma!
June 24, 2020 Leave your thoughtsTolerate it, Embrace it, Learn from it
“Sorry, I didn’t think of it THAT way…..”
For me ambiguity is always enigma. All plausible interpretations are highly welcome, more is merrier. So how do you look at it? As a stimulus? A neutral learning curve or a threat? Living in ambiguity gives us all an additional space to maneuver. It could be this or that, it could be right or wrong, you could be thinking the matter is resolved, but I know it hasn’t, purely interpretation based decisions to suit us can be taken and interestingly enough, you can even say, at the end of it all, “Sorry, I didn’t think of it THAT way.”
Our relationships, personal, professional, emotional, legal, political, be as it may, evolve around AMBIGUITY. It has a huge ability to be tolerant, what we call as ‘Tolerance of Ambiguity’ factor, or TOA, in work life. It survives for years, if you wish it to live on and learn from it. Take for example the geopolitical scenario at our various borders. Whether it is LOC or LAC, both are unresolved for years, yet, life goes on as usual. Till we get into a confrontational situation, like what we have now and suddenly both sides wake up and start discussing, your territory or my territory. Interesting!
Just the same happens in our professional and personal lives. We hate to resolve issues because we might find them convenient not to find a solution. People who stick their neck out and say, ‘Let’s Resolve,’ are termed novices, immature, emotional, inexperienced. If you look at our Corporate Legal System, you will find it to be similar. Lot of disputes arise because of interpretations of law, they live and resolve, by interpreting law. Now take a break and look within, in our personal emotional space, there too ambiguity survives in its enigmatic whole. Relationships, when they end, or turn sour, it becomes hugely interpretation based and remain at the domain of ambiguity, with both sides feeling the same way of being right or wrong.
This will perhaps remain. We will need to accept it, as a way of life. We need to be alert, or savvy, as the case maybe, to deal with our personal, professional or institutional issues, where there is ambiguity, and we are required to demonstrate our Tolerance of Ambiguity or the TOA factor.
Keep thinking! Keep tolerating!
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