Risk Hedging, Planning, and Stress

One important question we modern people would ask is, “Why is everyone so damn stressed out?”

Modern life is full of ironies. The irony here is how we always plan as attempt to feel more secure and thus make things less stressful. Yet, we get the exact opposite result.

Planning is fine but becomes bad when excessive.

We drown ourselves in all possible scenarios, which are mental images of futures that exist only in our mind. So they are more or less illusions. Then we completely forget that plans are just plans, and thus should change upon changes in us and the environment. While we forge that, we fail to adapt when things turn sour. And then we make even bigger mess when we control and manipulate, scratch and claw to try to force what has become into a future that exists in our mind — as if we are clinging for our dear life.

Attachment to plan. Attachment to accomplishment. Attachment to the thoughts we have of what future should be. Attachment to accomplishment. Attachment to fulfill our ego’s desires.

As humans, we now often fail to change and adapt, like water. We like rigidness. When we are both rigid and fluid.

There is even the field called Risk Analysis, and so every business and individual strive to take the risk out of things. Again, too much is bad. Imagine a life where risk is taken out. Imagine you know everything that is going to happen. What happen to life?

Like the game of tic-tac-toe, because I know it can only end in win or draw. I see no point to play it, unless my goal is to intentionally lose.

Like the game of chess, when we know one of us is going to mate in a few moves, we end the game to start over. There is no point to continue.

What happens to life when there is too much planning? What happens to life when risk is completely removed? I believe, the answer is clear.

Originally posted 2009-10-26 00:30:55. Republished by Blog Post Promoter