![Your brain on uncertainty (and why that's a good thing)🎤 [Standing in the wings, house lights dimming]Okay. Deep breath....](https://img3.schoolandcollegelistings.com/014/160/663713340141607.jpg)
19/10/2025
Your brain on uncertainty (and why that's a good thing)
🎤 [Standing in the wings, house lights dimming]
Okay. Deep breath.
They're not going to laugh. You know that, right?
Maybe. Maybe not.
That opening joke? Dead silence. I'm calling it now.
Could be.
So why are you doing this?
Because not knowing is better than not trying.
Here's something neuroscience won't tell you in a headline: your brain is literally wired to hate this moment.
The amygdala—your brain's alarm system—treats uncertainty as a threat. It's the same response whether you're facing actual danger or just a quiet room full of strangers waiting for you to be funny.
So when that voice says "you could still leave," it's not weakness. It's biology doing exactly what it was designed to do: keep you safe.
But here's what artists understand that your amygdala doesn't:
When you regularly engage with uncertainty—when you lean into discomfort rather than avoid it—you're activating the parts of your brain responsible for creativity, problem-solving, and growth. Every time you step into that unknown, you're rewiring your neural pathways.
Research consistently shows that people who embrace uncertainty rather than avoid it demonstrate higher creative output and perform better under pressure. Psychologists call it "tolerance for ambiguity"—artists just call it showing up.
The comedian in the wings knows something your comfort zone doesn't:
"You have no idea how this ends. That's exactly why I'm walking out there."
Because growth doesn't happen in the known. Connection doesn't happen in safety. Art doesn't happen in certainty.
Your doubt isn't proof you shouldn't do it. It's proof you're about to do something that matters.
So the next time that voice says "they're not going to laugh" or "they won't get it" or "this might be terrible"—remember: you're not broken. You're human. And you're about to get more creative.
[Takes breath. Steps into the light] ✨
Here we go.
Keep creating,
The backstage of your voice https://www.soniabourdages.net/about-5
P.S. The amygdala quiets down with repetition. The more you step on stage, the less it screams. Not because the risk disappears—but because you prove to yourself, again and again, that you can handle the unknown.
