A small thread on two big lessons from history that have stood the test of time, and that apply to everything we do in #life, #investing, work, everywhere -
Lesson #1 - We have much less control over the future than we hope, and that it will always surprise us (surprisingly!).
We can’t control what would happen to us or our investment portfolios, we can’t control what people around us would say or do, and we can’t even fully control our own bodies, which would get damaged and sick and ultimately die without regard for our preferences.
In fact, much of our unhappiness is caused by thinking that we can control things like these that, in fact, we can’t.
Lesson #2 - We have far more ability to make an impact than we expect. And this ability is more important than we can imagine.
All it requires for us is to be learning and adapting machines, be sensible in our decision making, keep things simple, and trust the role of sincere hard work. Some people are aware of it; most are not.
Frankly, it is easier to sit on the sidelines and whine about the stuff we can’t control (like stock prices) than to own up to what we do control (like our process of investing).
In short, while we can’t control the future, we can be courageous enough to jump into life with both feet and take responsibility for how we would like to mold it (without trying to control it), and how we would react to what happens to us on the way.
No success guarantees here, but history proves that’s how the world has always worked.
