Labyrinth of chaos

“Life-tree” was the written equivalent of the grand plan I made for myself. It extensively detailed the road-map to achieve both professional and personal goals. It also covered the time-lines to achieve those benchmarks. I was impressed with this exercise; I had effectively laid down the blue print for the next 50^* years of my life. I was confident. However, there is a small glitch..

Humans have a peculiar trait, we like to see order, plan, organize and trick our minds into believing that we are in complete control of our present and future. The universe, in contrast behaves quite the opposite, it embraces chaos where change is constant.

The Black Swan, written by Nassim Taleb explores this theme in greater detail. At its crux, the book focuses largely on the extreme impact, rare and unpredictable events have on our lives. Although the book is quite complicated in its structure and content, it did however, make me aware and take notice of something I had so far ignored – Uncertainty.

You see, “Life-tree” was a very good effort; it channelized my efforts and helped me take charge. The problem was that it had an implied assumption of life being linear and predictable. It had no room for uncertainty; there was no space for change. The fact is, I have no idea what lies in store for me and the future is filled with infinite possibilities.

Today, my “Life-tree” is simpler. I avoid setting too many numerical benchmarks for myself, I don’t plan too much and too far, I don’t set rigid time-lines for activities and plans which extend beyond a short period, I try to keep my thought process flexible to adapt to new ideas and information.

People think differently and respond to situations in their own unique ways, after many bitter experiences, unexpected turns and some deliberate efforts I am finally learning to traverse this Labyrinth of chaos called Life.

(*) This figure is subject to change.