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I have tolerance for ambiguity and change; I am willing to change, adapt, and be flexible in new settings and situations.

Tolerance for ambiguity can be defined as the degree to which an individual is comfortable with uncertainty, unpredictability, conflicting directions, and multiple demands. In essence, tolerance for ambiguity is manifest in a person’s ability to operate effectively in an uncertain environment. The extent of ambiguity may vary greatly and is generally linked to the underlying cause for uncertainty. Some people may be born with a natural inclination toward tolerance for ambiguity, while for others it develops over time through education and experience. And then there are those who strive daily to eliminate ambiguity in their lives as much as they can.

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Ambiguity exists in different degrees and for varying periods of time until one learns to function well in the cross-cultural setting.  Ambiguity may arise when questions are posed that have no single answer or that generate a number of new questions. Perhaps the initial question was ambiguous. Occasionally there is ethical uncertainty, and the line between right and wrong becomes blurred or difficult to define.  How one deals with uncertainty and the stress of an ambiguous situation is an important consideration in the world of missions.

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In general, people who have a high degree of tolerance for ambiguity tend to be able to see and appreciate multiple perspectives and thus are not so quick to rush to judgment. They ask more questions and look at more possibilities when trying to solve complex problems. Thus, tolerance for ambiguity often indicates a person’s ability to be creative and to think critically and flexibly, and as well as swift and independent decision making, and a positive attitude toward risk taking.  (Adapted from: http://career.iresearchnet.com/career-assessment/tolerance-for-ambiguity/)

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Following are descriptions of those who are intolerant of ambiguity, where everything has to be clearly defined and prescribed ways of doing things followed:

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  1. Need for categorization.  Categorization means that everything is defined as to purpose clearly and there can be no deviation from that.  For example: in some cultures, a dog is only for hunting, guarding, or as a pet.  They are horrified to find that in some other cultures, a dog is considered good food.

  2. Need for certainty

  3. Inability to recognize that good and bad traits might exist in the same person

  4. Acceptance of attitude statements representing a white-black view of life

  5. A preference for familiar over unfamiliar

  6. Rejection of the unusual or different

  7. Early selection of and maintenance of only one solution in an ambiguous situation

  8. Premature closure to the situation

 

The secondary characteristics describe individuals who are intolerant to ambiguity as:

  1. authoritarian

  2. dogmatic

  3. rigid

  4. closed minded

  5. ethnically prejudiced

  6. uncreative

  7. anxious

  8. extra-punitive

  9. aggressive

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Note that these items relate to people who simply cannot handle differences or change and who are rigid about what and how to do things.  It is clear that people who have these characteristics do not make good missionaries.  You need to ask the Lord to enable you to be flexible, to be a learner, to be open to new experiences, to be able to adjust your ways of thinking and behaving, and to sense from fellow believers in that culture how to go about living in that context.

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(List from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambiguity_tolerance%E2%80%93intolerance)

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