Some say life is just a bowl of cherries. Others warn that nobody promised you a rose garden. I say life is a game, arguably the most important game any of us get to play.You need a game plan.
Life in the developed world has three stages and two main objectives. The stages are youth, middle age, and seniority. The main objectives are: enjoy your current stage and survive to your next stage. The latter objective is somewhat moot in your seniority unless you have a preference for either heaven or hell.
Before you can begin to assemble a game plan, you need to do some self-analysis. "Know thyself" said Big Bill the Bard. Are you the "devil may care" type or are you hell-bent on making it to your next stage of life? Do you enjoy living on the edge of extinction or do you enjoy watching X games on TV? Are you a speed freak or are you risk averse? Do you want to climb Everest or do you make sure your shoes will remain tied during a nuclear attack? It all depends on which aspect of life is more important for you -- thrills and chills or staying warm and dry (the latter being my personal preference).
If you yearn for excitement, you are likely to be risk prone; if not, you are risk averse. In between, you are what might be labeled "risk neutral". Moreover, your risk inclination may vary as you traverse life's stages. You might be risk prone in youth, risk averse in middle age (assuming you are not having your mid-life crisis), and risk neutral as a senior. Or not.
The following is an outline of an example game plan for life. Assuming you know thyself, and you are risk prone in youth, you might venture to do some stupid things young people are inclined to do because "everybody is doing it, yo"! That's cool, but do not forget you have an important obligation that may put a bit of a damper on the exciting stupidity -- you want to survive to middle age. Upon reaching middle age, you re-evaluate your risk tolerance and shift gears into achieving a modicum of security for the future. You filter toward risk-averse mode and learn how to manage your personal finances, so as not to become a homeless 65-year-old hippy with one of those greasy ponytails. Finally, you become a senior citizen, and, having acquired the necessary resources, along with Medicare, you embark on spending (with risk-neutral abandon) what is colloquially termed your grandchildren's money, milking those golden years for as long as possible.
It works for me, yo.
Post 2,203 “Life is not just a bowl of cherries …”
