There are benefits to certainty (along with many downsides). Usually, in a clash of equally matched forces, the most certain group prevails (ergo Islam is the world’s most powerful religion today). When evenly matched people clash, the most certain one usually wins.
Uncertainty creates an awkward posture and way of moving and in social interactions, the more certain person usually comes across more clearly and powerfully.
When you encounter a difficulty, the more certain you feel, the more strength you can put behind your efforts. If you’re headed in the right direction, certainty will usually benefit you.
Nothing significant gets accomplished without certainty.
As William Butler Yeats put it:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
What am I certain about? I am certain I can be a great writer. I am certain I can put on a great one-man play. I am certain I can be a great public speaker. I am certain Orthodox Judaism is worth the aggravation for me. I am certain I can find my place there. I am certain I am capable of supporting a wife and kids. I am certain that Alexander Technique is good for everybody. I am certain that therapy and 12-step work help me. I am certain I need to be social every day. I am certain that I have a great physical therapist. I am certain that Torah is interesting and good for me and the world. I am certain that I love the secular and religious worlds equally. I am certain that I love to read, to learn, to grow and to contribute. I am certain that my family and friends love me. I am certain I can find my way to work that I love, that will support a wife and kids, that helps me grow, and contributes to the greater good.
