Originally published by the Indianapolis Business Journal
By Mandy Haskett | January 9, 2026
If we’re united in anything, it’s uncertainty.
As R&B artist Doechii all but foretold, it’s been a year of “Anxiety” for most. Political unrest. Violence. Economic fragility. Artificial intelligence automatons quietly acquiring their own email addresses and Microsoft Teams accounts. The result is a workforce that feels perpetually uneasy.
Todd Kashdan, psychologist and founder of the Well-Being Lab at George Mason University, recently coined the term “loomingness” to describe our widespread feeling that a threat is getting closer or moving faster than desired.
“It’s like someone is walking behind you at 2 o’clock in the morning,” he said, “and all of a sudden they speed up a little bit.”
When humans are braced for the next terrible thing, work cultures pay a price. Employee engagement in the United States remains depressed after falling in 2024 to its lowest level in a decade—roughly 31% engaged. It fell an additional 2 percentage points last year.
When humans are braced for the next terrible thing, work cultures pay a price.
And according to Glassdoor’s 2026 Worklife Trends Report, mentions of “misalignment” in employee reviews referencing senior leadership surged 149% from 2024 to 2025. Mentions of “disconnect” rose 24%, and mentions of “distrust” climbed 26%.
Peeling my own onion of unease, it’s clear that work does not inoculate us against the perils of the outside world. Instead, all that looming leaks in, eroding our social fabric and organizational productivity.
Given the likelihood that the world will remain messy for a while, the question becomes: How do we cope?
Think of reality as having a couple of overlapping layers
Psychiatrist Phil Stutz offers a useful frame, splitting reality into two overlapping layers: Universe 1 and Universe 2.
- Universe 1 is the plane of matter, time and tasks. The place where you file taxes, argue over dishes and try to raise emotionally intelligent children while answering emails you never meant to open. Math (read: money) dominates Universe 1.
In Stutz’s schema, Universe 1 is stubborn and resistant to our fantasies of control. And it’s also where all meaningful action happens.
- Universe 2 sits underneath—or maybe within—Universe 1. It’s the crucible of unseen architecture: meaning, intention, connection and creativity. Universe 2 is not mystical fluff; it’s the inner engine room that fuels the human capacity to engage with Universe 1.
You touch Universe 2 through practices that align you with deeper truths: creating things, gratitude, presence and the choice to move forward in spite of uncertainty.
Entropy always wins in Universe 1. That’s nonnegotiable. What is within our control is how often we signal to Universe 2 through regular action.
Three simple, effective “W” words to help you drop in
- Walk. It’s cold. You need not go very far for this to work. You might choose to walk down the hall, around your building or even pace the space you’re in. Rhythmic movement helps metabolize stress hormones and restores a sense of agency. The body must calm before the mind can catch up. As the fourth-century Latin refrain goes: Solvitur ambulando. “It is solved by walking.”
- Water. Regulation isn’t dramatic—it’s practical. And it’s from this place that we create connection and meaning. Drink a full glass of water, or introduce a temperature change like cool water on your cheeks or a warm mug in your hands. These small acts stabilize the nervous system and support cognitive function. Temperature and hydration are first-line tools for emotional regulation.
- Window. Perspective is physiological. Looking outward signals to our brain that we’re safe. Anxiety feasts on an inward focus. Peer out a window—at trees, sky, movement and light. This widens your field of vision and helps the nervous system stand down. Bonus points for going all the way outside, where you can be inside the electromagnetic field of nature. Polyvagal experts emphasize environmental orientation as a key pathway back to a state of creativity—Universe 2’s ultimate expression.
The world will remain imperfect, unpredictable and perhaps totally unhinged. In a volatile moment, resilience isn’t inspirational. It’s operational.
Walking, water and a window won’t solve the challenges of Universe 1. But they might temporarily restore your enduring will to rise and meet them.