Three Life Lessons From A Strange Analogy
It might not be a path at all
It is easy to lose track of things when you’re not sure.
I sit at my desk each day, open the editor on my laptop, and start typing with a theme in mind, a topic inside my head, but it fades away with each word.
I write about 200 words on some days, and they make little sense to me. I wrote about 500 the other day, and it seemed meaningless. The paragraphs on the screen appear like a person with flesh and bones but empty on the inside.
Each paragraph feels like a pile of garbage stacked over another.
The original message, the final insight I wanted to deliver, gets lost in between sentences, and I am stuck staring at the beautiful mess that words are. But I continue to write. I do it because I know by the time I finish, it’ll make sense.
Every sentence which seemed out of place a few moments ago will magically fit. But don’t expect it to fit like Legos; I’m only human, and imperfection is all I can guarantee.
It was only yesterday when I found myself there again, clueless and staring, only to realize this is life.
We start with a sketch or a picture in mind of where we want to go, what we want to achieve, the places we want to visit, and the people we want to learn more about. But it rarely goes that way. Things change, and more importantly, we change.
Most people are not like Warren Buffett, who bought his first stock at 11 and knew what he wanted to do by the time he went to college. I have read so many articles from people of different domains: from finance, IT, doctors who have turned into writers at an age when most people won’t take the risk.
Cling to your job if you have one.
It isn’t the worst advice during times like these when millions have lost jobs and are struggling to put food on the table, let alone pay the mortgage on their houses.
It reminds me of a CNBC documentary on the 2008 financial crisis where they showed a clip in which a journalist asks, “How do you feel?” to a Lehman-Brothers employee.
It was the day when the firm declared bankruptcy, and the man was walking away from the office — possibly returning home — with all his stuff in a carton.
And what do you think he replied?
“How do you think?” with a smile on his face. I wonder how and where he is now. I hope he is doing well.
Life doesn’t follow a straight path. It might not be a path at all. We could be jumbling around in an n-dimensional field, trying to envision it all in our three-dimensional reality.
Life is like investing in stocks.
Most people are speculating
Everyone is speculating when they start investing. They begin with a small amount; look for the weekly small-cap gainers and place an order for ten stocks.
We appreciate everything in the green while we take a minor loss out of proportion. It is a stupid stock. I should have bought those which dropped the previous week.
It is exactly how people go about their life. We do things without taking a moment and expect it to be all sunshine and rainbows. We sulk when it doesn’t go that way.
The only thing constant is change
Markets are uncertain. No matter how bullish they are, they will go up and down all week. You’ll put your money because you “feel” a stock will go up, and it’ll plunge that same week. Even on the same day sometimes, if you remember the flash crash of 2010.
The broker said the stock was “poised to move.” Silly me, I thought he meant up — Randy Thurman.
Life is uncertain too. We have taken decisions that have proven to be wrong at some other point in life. Decisions we wished we had never taken. Yet, some of them were probably right for the time.
Marvelous things, things you never imagined may happen to you. Things you probably thought were out of your grasp will be at your table.
You can’t be sure of the future, no matter who you are. The uncertainty is not only daunting but also exhilarating.
You’ll never be satisfied
Markets are addictive. You’ll want it to creep up by a point initially. And when it does, you’ll ask for more and then some more. Soon, you’ll demand it.
It is why the prosperous want to be rich, and the rich want to be wealthier. It is why the best desires to be unbeatable, and the greats strive to be the GOAT.
We get our dream job, and we start thinking about the promotion in a few days. It becomes their new reality, what they strive for now. People need a new goal after they’ve achieved the previous one. Life becomes meaningless and stale for those who don’t find one.
Former Polish pianist, composer, and Prime Minister Ignacy Jan Paderewski once said,
There have been a few moments when I have known complete satisfaction, but only a few. I have rarely been free from the disturbing realization that my playing might have been better.
Final Thoughts
It is intuitive to feel satisfied and make yourself believe that you’re holding your reality even when everything else is changing.
I am content with what I have, but I want that thing on the thousandth shelf even though I can’t see it.
Life is climbing a mountain on a trek. You’ll slip and scratch and feel the pain in your ankles. You’ll feel your lungs out of breath, but you’ll reach your destination in the end. It will be your destination even though it might not be the end of the path.
