You know as a mother, I believe and want you to believe that there is no one else like you. You have unique strengths and weaknesses and a unique personality.
Yet I strongly believe in the law of averages. I believe in the magic of numbers. Do you know what I do for a living? I try to predict the future. Based on what has happened in the past. I try to predict whether a new person who I have never even met will default on payments, buy a certain product or go with a competitor.
And how do I do it? By making an assumption that this person is not unique. His personality will fit one of the standard profiles that we have, profiles that we have created after studying a lot of people. And you know what it works? It works most of the times.
And that’s why I am doling this advice to you. If you are ever at crossroads and don’t know where to go, take the first short cut to the local library and read. Read what other people in your situation do. Think about the options. What are the odds that option A will work? What are the odds that option B will work? What do statistics say about people who take one route Vs the other? How do they turn out? How many people have defied the odds? Now ask yourself what you want to do. Once you have read the factual, statistical books, read stories fictional and non fictional. Books, they’ll always surprise you with their empathy. Just when we think no body understands what it feels like, you’d read about somebody who has experienced the exact same thing. You can draw lessons from their choices.
You still might choose to do something different but at least you would have had all facts before you.
And don’t let anyone and that includes me make doomsday predictions about your choices. Because depending on the power they have over you, the level of confidence in their voice and their determination to prove themself right could make you internalize their verdict and give up on your dream too soon.
Finally, whatever the confusion, no matter how big the problem, no matter if you take path A or path B, if you truly believe in it and also believe in your own self, it will all workout in the end. I promise.
August 5, 2011 at 5:21 pm
“And don’t let anyone and that includes me make doomsday predictions about your choices. Because depending on the power they have over you, the level of confidence in their voice and their determination to prove themself right could make you internalize their verdict and give up on your dream too soon.”
— Loved these lines..
August 5, 2011 at 7:35 pm
Little bit of both I guess – statistics and analyzing other people lets us know more about humans in general…and we’re all humans so we share that much with others. But we’re also individuals – so some of those generalizations will be wrong or there’ll be other circumstances which change the way we behave.
But I strongly believe we have no freedom of choice at a fundamental level.