Do You Really Know What You're Doing?

How do you handle 50/50 decisions?

Have you ever faced a proper 50/50 dilemma?

You tried several methods. You wrote down pros and cons, you asked some friends, you even prayed about it. Still, you couldn’t separate your options. There was no clear pick, it was right down the middle.

FPL managers know exactly what I’m talking about.

The annoying thing about such decisions is that depending on the result, you can either look like a genius or an idiot.

Should I captain Haaland or Salah in my fantasy team?

Should I tell my best friend that I have feelings for her?

Should I study medicine like my dad wants or chase my dreams?

Should I invest in the stocks of X or Y?

The dilemmas don't stop, and most times, they're right down the middle. Using logic, there is no clear choice. You try to follow your heart, the bastard chooses that time to stay silent.

50/50.

Full clarity comes only after the deed is done, when the results of your choice are staring you in the face.

We call it hindsight.

At that point, everything suddenly becomes clear. How could you have even struggled with this decision when it was so obvious?

Of course Salah would outscore Haaland, he's the king of FPL for a reason.

Meanwhile it was never that straightforward. Haaland could just as easily have done well.

But no one cares.

No one cares about your thought process, your hard work, your strategy. Most times, only your results speak for you.

You go explain explain explain…

You might be thinking this is so unfair, but life is unfair. We just have to deal with it.

But it's important for you to know.

People can call you an idiot as much as they want, but it becomes a real problem when you actually believe it.

Don't get me wrong. I've made some stupid choices. I'm sure you have as well. This is different.

This could've gone either way.

The same applies for success. Don't think you're some sort of genius just because the result fell on your side.

Judge yourself based on your thought process, hard work, and strategy. You'll win some and lose others, that's life.

But a good plan only needs a sprinkle of luck to work out. A bad plan relies on luck every single time, and we know how that usually goes.

It's easy to be a genius with the power of hindsight. Everyone knows how to analyze where it went wrong.

But many of us have no idea what we're doing.

No one has lived before, this is the first time for all of us. We're just living life as it comes and doing the best we can.

Sasha Alex Sloan has a beautiful song called Older.

Sasha is touching on another side of the issue.

She used to condemn her parents and say she would never be like them, but she learned an important lesson as she got older.

She said…

The older I get, the more that I see

My parents aren't heroes, they're just like me

It's easy to think that your parents have it all figured out because they're your parents, obviously. You assume they have all the solutions to all your problems.

At least they should have their lives figured out.

So when they don't, you condemn them. You see them as failures and you vow to do better.

It's good to do better, even your parents want that for you. But you need to go easy on them.

Ten years ago, I thought I was smart. I thought I knew so much. Today, I realize that I knew nothing like Jon Snow. But then I wonder.

Ten years from now, I would probably think back to this very moment and realize I know nothing.

Maybe I'd read this article and laugh at how ignorant I sound.

That tells me something.

Every single one of us is clueless. No one knows anything.

Okay, that's harsh.

We all know a lot about what is behind us, and we use that to try and figure out what's in front. But no one really knows for sure.

We're all just applying what we have learned in the past and hoping it works out.

As the saying goes…

“You can only understand life backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”

What am I trying to say?

Life is mostly you stepping into the unknown. Plan as well as you can, but be merciful to yourself when it doesn't work out and be humble when it does.

Everyone else is living for the first time, the only time too. Maybe the people around are making mistakes, but remember that we're all just learning.

It's good to learn from their mistakes, but be merciful to them.

Have mercy on others. Have mercy on yourself.

I'll see you next time.