Uncertainty Can Be Awesome With Maggie Jackson

The Anxious Achiever

Morra Aarons-Mele

Business, Careers, Management, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.7 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Uncertainty isn’t something to fix, but something that actually makes you sharper, more resilient, and more innovative. In this episode, I sit down with Maggie Jackson, to talk about why our brains react the way they do to the unknown, and how leaders can transform uncertainty into focus, creativity, and better decision-making. We dive into why discomfort can be good stress, how curiosity boosts well-being, and practical shifts to help you stay present and grounded when outcomes feel unclear. Tune in for new ways to reframe uncertainty at home, at work, and inside your own mind. Check out our sponsors: Northwest Registered Agent - Protect your privacy, build your brand and get your complete business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes! Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/achieverfree In this Episode, You Will Learn 00:00 Why our brains interpret uncertainty as a threat. 03:30 What “good stress” looks like in your body. 09:45 How to reframe uncertainty as curiosity instead of dread. 14:15 Why trying new things reduces anxiety over time. 17:00 The science of pausing and “spaciousness” for better problem-solving. 20:30 How do you train yourself and your team to be open to not knowing? 26:30 Why language like “maybe” can strengthen trust and collaboration. 28:00 How exhaustion, pressure, and overload lower our tolerance for uncertainty. 33:00 The link between curiosity, well-being, and better performance. 36:00 How can leaders model uncertainty without appearing weak? Resources + Links Learn more about Maggie’s Uncertain book HERE Get a copy of my book - The Anxious Achiever Watch the podcast on YouTube Find more resources on our website morraam.com Follow Follow me: on LinkedIn @morraaronsmele + Instagram @morraam Follow Maggie on LinkedIn: @maggiejackson

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	When you're building a business, it's about a lot more than a great product or service.
0:07.6	Get more with Northwest Registered Agent at Northwest Registeredagent.com
0:13.1	slash paid achiever.
0:18.6	You know you want to start a business.
0:21.2	What you may not know is how to make it a reality.
0:24.5	GoDaddy got you.
0:26.1	Just visit goaddy.com to get started.
0:28.8	That's godaddy.com.
0:30.9	Premium features require a paid subscription.
0:33.3	See terms on site.
0:38.7	Today we take on uncertainty, the topic on all of our minds and a state and emotion that we
0:47.3	humans are wired to struggle with.
0:49.7	I'm Maura Aaron Smiley, and this is the anxious achiever, the show that looks at the intersection of mental
0:55.2	health and leadership and work and asks, how can we do it all better? I think most of us would like
1:02.0	to do uncertainty better. Our ancient human brains are actually wired to take on uncertainty as a threat. After all, who knows what's hiding behind that bush.
1:14.7	But my conversation with author Maggie Jackson, who has written the incredible book,
1:19.8	Uncertain, I think will help you reframe uncertainty to opportunity, to challenge, and potential.
1:29.3	And it will take some new thinking and rewiring, but it is intensely possible.
1:36.6	One of my favorite conversations I've had on the podcast, reframing uncertainty with Maggie Jackson.
1:46.4	I think that there has been my own work included a lot of conversation in the past recent years
1:53.3	about the fact that difficult emotions like anxiety aren't bad, right?
2:00.4	They aren't bad or good.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Morra Aarons-Mele, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Morra Aarons-Mele and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.