Ups and downs

One of the stories we inherit from the boomers is the story of linear growth and unidirectional progress. And I’ve mentioned this oversimplified story having a very adverse effect on our generation. While we are not naive, this story stays with us so strongly we can’t seem to get ourselves out of the psychological rut that our trajectories will always be the same and our future state is a mere extrapolation of our current path.

There are going to be ups and downs; and cycles in life. Growth is not linear and often not unidirectional. Nassim Taleb introduced the idea of anti-fragile which describes something that strengthens with volatility in due course.

Consistency is important but it should be pre-supposed. And so we can be so brilliant at times and then make a stupid decision in the next moment. These individual moments don’t define us and at each point it is the response that determines who we are. And who we are becoming.

So let us learn to shake of that linear, unidirectional story and embrace our up-and-down lives.