How to Manage Uncertainty While Being a Parent to a Combat Soldier?

Edith Zakai-Or, CEO of the Maytiv Center for Positive Psychology and a former intelligence officer, shares profound insights on navigating uncertainty, what can help us create stability and a sense of control, and how this meets parents of combat soldiers - from her personal perspective as a mother of 2 fighters.  

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"Our existence is structured around constant uncertainties, a significant thing that can be done with this uncertainty is to recognize that it exists."

Edith and I (Gali) delve into coping mechanisms for uncertainty, and I discover that one of the most important is first and foremost recognizing and accepting it. We can never have complete certainty in life, but with cognitive flexibility, focusing on practical steps, and life experience built on past successes, we can cope with it better. Edith advocates an essential change in our perspective on uncertainty, and even warns against attempts to predict the unforeseeable future - even with a mathematical explanation from probability theory.

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"How can we help ourselves and our environment in times of uncertainty?"

1. Practice gratitude and strengthen our daily ability to list the "there is"

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2. Write down each night the things we are grateful for 

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3. Encourage compassionate communication towards ourselves and those around us

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4. Ask others encouraging strength questions, not weakness - instead of "how are you?" (may raise anxiety), ask "how are you coping?"

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5. Remember the situation will not last forever, and be in the "good day" afterwards

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6. Do something that benefits us (sport, family meal, talk with a good friend) 

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7. Do some good in the world (volunteer)

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Looking ahead,Edith encourages being present in the moment, finding comfort in activities that bring joy and meaning. She draws parallels to historical events, underscoring the Jewish people's wondrous ability to emerge strong from crises.

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