Imagine a shadowy future, hovering at the edges of the present state of things; a map of all the various ways in which the present can reinvent itself. This, say the authors, is the ever-present state known as 'the adjacent possible'. In this excerpt from their book (The Upside of Uncertainty), they explain how to tap into this expansive field of opportunity. Their six principles for achieving this include questioning assumptions, considering the worst-case scenario and purposely recombining things. They argue that the adjacent possible is always expanding, both in terms of our own personal creativity and in terms of global innovation. In the end, they show that discovering adjacent possibles requires two things: a willingness to look for them and the courage to pursue them.

For many of us, uncertainty can be nerve-racking. That reaction, however, obscures a crucial fact: Uncertainty and possibility are two sides of the same coin. Chances are, your biggest achievements and transformational moments all came after a period of uncertainty--one that probably felt stressful but that you pushed through to accomplish something great. Uncertainty doesn't have to be paralyzing. After studying innovators and changemakers who handle it well and reviewing research on resilience and tolerance for ambiguity, the authors have found that the following four principles can help: (1) Reframe your situation by focusing on the potential upside. (2) Prime yourself by taking small risks and reducing uncertainty in other areas of your life. (3) Take a series of modest actions instead of making bet-the-farm moves. And (4) Sustain yourself by recasting setbacks and focusing on things that have true meaning for you.