1. Your Plans Mean Nothing
But they rarely seem to work out as I want them to.
Oftentimes, something messes them up, and then I then have to spend endless hours to come up with a new one. I sit there in rage and anger and furiously wonder why all that crap happens to ME!
Like if that random stuff that happens to me only happens to me…?
How narcissistic could I be to think that?
The thing is that we love to have plans because they give us structure.
They give us a clear checklist on what we have to keep in mind to make it through the day. Ideally, this plan leads to a better place in the future too.
The funny thing is that these plans are always “bad plans” anyways, no matter how hard I try to make them perfect.
They never prepare us for the randomness that comes with taking part in life. Because they can’t take in all the variables. And they can’t consider all the unknowns either.
So, I guess the best plan is to have no plan?
Or, at least, to be ready to ditch the plan at any time without dwelling too much on it?
Or, to turn into someone who can come up with a new plan on the spot?
I guess all of these things are helpful.
Because no matter how hard you try to consider every little detail, there will always be that one random rock which seems to be coming from nowhere, and then hitting you right into your emotional balls.
Because…
2. Man Thinks God Laughs
You don’t have to be religious to know that that’s true.
We can substitute God for Life even. Or the Universe? A Higher Power? It doesn’t matter what you call it. You know what we talk about here.
The crucial part here is that it will laugh right at your face whenever you think of yourself too highly and deluded yourself into thinking you have figured it all out.
Did you really?
How about that?
Did you consider this?
And BAM.
Right there comes a big fat slap into your face that knocks you out and puts you back to sleep.
Good night sweetie.
But that’s fine. Because tomorrow you…
3. Don’t Go Back to the Office
The best side effect of this whole pandemic was how everything slowed down, and then nearly came to a halt.
The boring office job finally turned into more home office and less meetings. And the productivity, (even though all these outdated and rigid companies happily pretended to their stakeholders it‘s the opposite) plumeted into never before seen lows.
Everything and everyone slowed down.
And what happens when you stop paddling and kicking while out in the open sea?
But the rest of us soon realizes that they can float and they could have saved themselves a lot of painful struggle over all the past years.
But have you ever wondered: “Why would you want to slave away if you are not even sure this thing you are working for will still exist tomorrow? Do you really value yourself so little that I think that’s a greatest use of your ever so limited time?”
Ironically, we all know the answer to this question.
Because when the direction we are aiming at no longer excites us, it’s mandatory to take control of the wheel and switch courses.
Or we don’t.
And then we grow bitter and resentful and we tune down the “productivity” a bit further the next day.
And even a tiny bit more a week later.
And a month?
A year?
It’s always the same.
The ones who prepare for the bad times in the fruitful periods of life will get out of this situation now way stronger as well.
And the ones who failed to do that and clouded their minds with meaningless nonsense and delusional phantasies will soon realize what happens when they finally wake from their slumber.
And it won’t be a pleasant wake-up call, that’s for sure!
So, sometimes, it’s a great gift to have enough time to slow down for a bit and re-evaluate the current situation at hand.
Breathe.
And then look at it with more clarity.
What am I missing here?
What did I fail to consider?
Where could I be completely wrong?
And soon we will understand.
We will know if we are holding onto a sinking ship? Or if we find ourselves on top of the few bacons of hope left drifting through the stormy seas steering toward the safe haven.
But that heavily depends on our…
4. Toilet Paper Mentality
When the Corona pandemic hit Austria and it became clear that that’s not going to be a mere summer flue, people freaked out.
They stormed the supermarkets and stockpiled as much food and resources as they could.
Ironically, the toilet paper was gone first.
It seems as if people really valued a good comfy wipe after taking a dump over anything else. Whatever that’s supposed to mean.
Still, I wondered: “If Corona is really going to turn as bad is they say it will, why would you not buy something that helps you to make it through these harsh times that lie in front of us? Why would you prefer a clean ass over a full stomach?”
And then I figured that these people must be delusional. They are aiming at the wrong things, clearly.
Could it be that all these people, and also the big companies they continue to build together, have the wrong metrics in sight as well?
Do these big companies, who depended on investor money for a bit too long, now aim at toilet paper too?
And what if they would have stockpiled more noodles instead while they still had time to do so?
Either way, they’ll learn it the hard way anyways in this…
5. Crash Course in Uncertainty
Uncertainty is what kills all ambitions.
Because uncertainty leads to inaction.
And inaction prevents change like nothing else.
And since the world is constantly moving, to keep up with it, we have to keep moving too.
That’s why, when you try to MERELY stay at your current peak, you are actually falling behind already.
It’s inevitable and makes a lot of sense.
The world is moving constantly and shifting in faster ways in ever increasing speeds. Now, if you spend all your energy on merely staying who you currently are, the world will be moving away from you right underneath your feet.
That’s why it’s important to embrace the uncertainty to at least some degree.
To which degree?
We know that intrinsically. There’s no need to debate that.
Because when we step too far into the unknown, we feel anxious. And then it’s better to look for some stability again while reducing the amount of uncertainty we expose ourselves to.
If we however exclude the uncertainty of life completely, we run at risk of losing touch with the “flow” of everything. Everything suddenly turns dull and mundane. And a system that becomes too rigid will eventually crumble under the inevitable exposure to the constant hits life throws at it from the outside.
Be like water instead, Bruce Lee said.
Or be a chameleon.
Whatever gets you through these times.
