How do you prepare for adversity, trouble and situations that may have a negative impact on you and your life?
I actually contemplated on doing the prompt about being fired from my job, but since what I write will be here on Hive blockchain, it's best to keep such thoughts to myself. :P
Alright, back to the prompt that I have chosen. :)
If I could sum it up in one key sentence, it would be to maintain a positive outlook on life.
But of course, it's easier than done. More objectively, I thought it would be clearer to classify these situations in 4 broad categories because the preparation for each category would be different. I am not sure if you have heard about the knowns/unknowns concepts, but I thought this concept is very useful for this prompt.
1) Known Knowns - Problems I am aware of and fully understand.
This category relates to more factual stuff. For me, this could be personal health issues, or issues and stresses I face at work. For this category, I think since I am aware of them, I would be proactive and find ways to solve them. In fact, the issues are the "easiest to handle" in my opinion because everything is made known, and it's really up to myself to take action.
2) Known Unknowns - Problems I am aware of but don't fully understand or have a clear solution for.
This category is slightly trickier. For me, I think it would be about finances and budgeting. We all know inflation will be around, but it's hard to imagine or project how much things would cost 20 to 30 years down the road when I retire. While I can try to save and invest as much as I can, it's hard to project how much money I would need in the far future. So for this category, I think we can still take proactive steps even though we don't have all the information. Just do our best!
3) Unknown Knowns - Problems or challenges rooted in something I already know but haven't realised or acknowledged.
I struggle to think of adversity, trouble or situations that would fall into this category. After all, it's supposed to be unknown and I haven't realised or acknowledged? Hmm, thinking a little harder, maybe my unconventional personality and my introverted nature might have come across as weird and unapproachable to others and people around me might have negative impression of me if they didn't know me personally? Since it's an unknown known, I don't think there's much preparation that could be done. Perhaps one can do more self reflection?
4) Unknown Unknowns - Problems that catch me completely off guard and are entirely unforeseen.
This category is easy to explain and comprehend. It's just life curveballs. Natural disasters. Sudden loss of a job. You get what I mean. One can never really prepare 100% for these situations and I feel it's also a very pessimistic way to live my life if I always worry about these 0.01% chance scenarios. As for preparation, I think that's where insurance comes in handy. There's a wide spectrum of policies to cater for these unknown unknowns, be it life insurance, personal accident policies, or loss of income ones. Of course, one should seek qualified financial advisors to determine which ones are appropriate for themselves.
So to sum up:
- Known Knowns: Take action and solve them!
- Known Unknowns: Do your best to solve them
- Unknown Knowns: Do more self reflection
- Unknown Unknowns: Buy some insurance coverage
Of course, these are just my thoughts and are not golden solutions. Feel free to challenge them and let me know what you think!
Ultimately, life is meant to be enjoyed and I still reiterate the importance of being optimistic! With a positive mindset, I believe we are halfway to overcoming these life challenges. With the festive season around the corner, there are more reasons to be happy and also to celebrate our achievements over the past year! And the malls are putting up their Christmas trees - just like this one that I saw this week!
Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!
