Nobody owns the recipe for the Future.
However, most of us spend an enormous amount of time trying to predict or to forecast it by creating a “Meticulous Business Plan for Life”. Life then transforms into the “Casino Royal” as we convert to the needy-greedy gamblers seeking to hit the jackpot. We make a bet with reality and commit ourselves to being accurate about our predictions. We devote ourselves to endure our judgment – to be right at all cost – and while we may occasionally win – the other times we cover up our defeat by nothing more than denunciation, justification or reasoning. This is the etymology of a decision-making process.
Today’s business attributes the highest value to predictions and forecasting results. Standardized procedures provide answers to reliable, foreseeable and efficient operations. Human relations based on contractual obligation are no different from business contracts. People choose to be right rather than to be happy. The need for making better decisions, having more agreements, being more predictable and the ever-ending quest to have more control – have all now reached pandemic levels. While we exercise caution and manage risk by “making sure”; we become the people who manage resources and outcomes accurately, we forget to live our lives. We second-guess our inner voice, doubt our own instincts, question others, conduct Google searches, compile spreadsheets and calculate our way forward. We distinguish fewer opportunities to make choices as we no longer see them as options. We become riddled and crippled decision-making machines, completely overlooking to make simple and straightforward selections based on faith. We devote our existence to making compromises while carrying an obligation to others for being right about the stipulated outcomes. We become tourists following the footsteps of those before us, checking off the points of interests on the path to “getting somewhere”. Maneuvering between the mapped-out goals while already planning our next ones, and making sure we cover them all – or otherwise – our “trip” may not be considered successful. The feeling of urgency replaces contentment and enjoyment of the experience.
I like to think of life as of a voyage without destination yet with many possible directions. Becoming a traveler focused on the journey itself – passionately, intensely and fearlessly. Acknowledging the points of arrival as they come along with joy, pleasure and reflection……. While on the “mission” enduring search for “something” we may already have- we totally miss out on the most important part of the ride – the participation. So let’s not forget, there are no such things as bad choices, however there are ill-chosen decisions. Let’s stop planning then and start participating.
This article was originally published on Huffington Post.
