MEN SHOULD CARRY CATASTROPHE ON THEIR BACKS

Keeping an eye on our future can be very clarifying.

Whenever I see a man who seems lost in his life today, it is inevitably the case that he has lost his vision for the future that he is building.

Having a vision for our future helps us align our energies.  It gives correct direction to where we should be spending our efforts today.

It’s difficult to feel engaged with life without a vision for our future.

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Considering that the future is always going to be uncertain and unpredictable, how should we proceed with envisioning it?

My advice is — be pessimistic!  Don’t count on the future being as good or better than today.  Expect things to go wrong.  Expect disasters.  Have a negative temperament.  

Not being naive as a man is in part having this negative temperament.  Not being naive is knowing that disasters await us — that the people and things we can count on today, we may not be able to count on tomorrow.

Answer the uncertainty of future with pessimism.

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Keeping an eye on future catastrophes and doing one’s best to prepare for them — this is also a crucial dimension of leadership.

We expect our leaders to be future-oriented.  We are expecting that by following a particular leader, our future might turn out better than without that leader.

As a leader, accept this responsibility.  Whether you are a leader on a big scale, or just a leader in your family unit, those who are following you are looking to you to cover their future, to prepare for the disasters to come.

— Om Rupani

OmRupani.org

www.OmRupani.org