Dearest readers, I am back from my time off and now I hope to be back at a one per week blog post schedule :) During my time off, I reconnected with many friends and relatives and wow, was it ever awesome! We talked about many different things, I got philosophical with some people, and some people got beyond philosophical with me. For those of you who think philosophy is impractical, I have to say you may be quite wrong on that one. In times like the one we are in, deep thought is very important. The one topic from my time off I would like to share with you is all about long-term planning, the one thing many of us forgot about during this pandemic. I would like to talk about the importance of it and the worst thing that can happen to you when you go ahead and forget all about your long term plans!
Marcus Tulius Cicero, one of Rome's greatest speakers, once said:‘Serit arbores, quae alteri saeclo prosint,’ ut ait Statius noster in Synephebis.
‘He plants trees, which will be of use to another age,’ as [Caecilius] Statius says in his Synephebi.
This powerful statement and tribute to my inner nerd really resonated with me- not just because it has so many positive meanings, but also because of its sheer power to influence lives in a positive way. Personally, I interpret it as selfish and selfless at the same time. When you plan for the future, you are at the same time planning for your life and also for something good to leave behind to the next generation. In doing so, you are choosing to live your life responsibly and do your part in making the world a better place for those who will continue to live after you are no longer around. No matter what the circumstances are, you will most likely live to see tomorrow and much further than that so pretending those days will never come and you will need nothing at that time is dangerous.
How is it dangerous? You may think I am exaggerating. This is where that other thing I hinted at in the title comes into play- involuntary outcome(s). Look, we can debate about inner or outer locus of control, free will versus determinism and so on, but one thing is for sure. The less planning you do for the future, the less daily tasks you perform towards the completion of your long term plans and goals, the more room there is for short term and long term involuntary outcomes. What is an involuntary outcome? To me, it is any unplanned outcome that goes against me, and I rate it on the obstacle scale above a pothole. Now, dearest readers, what that scale looks like depends on you. You may be more sensitive to life's troubles because you had it easy for a while or forever, so almost anything shoots up on your obstacle scale above a mere pothole. Or, maybe you are a hardened veteran in this struggle called life and minor obstacles barely even register. So, the road you travel does not exist ahead of you; you project it with your long-term plans. The less you plan, and the less you work on making your plans happen, the more involuntary outcomes you will experience. Sometimes, bad things just happen- but they do not always have to happen to you.
Is this topic special? I do not think so. Does it become special when we forget all about it when times are tough and we forget to look over the horizon? Damn right it does! :)
Marcus Tulius Cicero, one of Rome's greatest speakers, once said:‘Serit arbores, quae alteri saeclo prosint,’ ut ait Statius noster in Synephebis.
‘He plants trees, which will be of use to another age,’ as [Caecilius] Statius says in his Synephebi.
This powerful statement and tribute to my inner nerd really resonated with me- not just because it has so many positive meanings, but also because of its sheer power to influence lives in a positive way. Personally, I interpret it as selfish and selfless at the same time. When you plan for the future, you are at the same time planning for your life and also for something good to leave behind to the next generation. In doing so, you are choosing to live your life responsibly and do your part in making the world a better place for those who will continue to live after you are no longer around. No matter what the circumstances are, you will most likely live to see tomorrow and much further than that so pretending those days will never come and you will need nothing at that time is dangerous.
How is it dangerous? You may think I am exaggerating. This is where that other thing I hinted at in the title comes into play- involuntary outcome(s). Look, we can debate about inner or outer locus of control, free will versus determinism and so on, but one thing is for sure. The less planning you do for the future, the less daily tasks you perform towards the completion of your long term plans and goals, the more room there is for short term and long term involuntary outcomes. What is an involuntary outcome? To me, it is any unplanned outcome that goes against me, and I rate it on the obstacle scale above a pothole. Now, dearest readers, what that scale looks like depends on you. You may be more sensitive to life's troubles because you had it easy for a while or forever, so almost anything shoots up on your obstacle scale above a mere pothole. Or, maybe you are a hardened veteran in this struggle called life and minor obstacles barely even register. So, the road you travel does not exist ahead of you; you project it with your long-term plans. The less you plan, and the less you work on making your plans happen, the more involuntary outcomes you will experience. Sometimes, bad things just happen- but they do not always have to happen to you.
Is this topic special? I do not think so. Does it become special when we forget all about it when times are tough and we forget to look over the horizon? Damn right it does! :)