Survival of the Predictist
The strongest. The Fastest. The Smartest.
They all fail.
It is not that these traits are failing traits, it is more that they are limited in their usefulness, if they aren't combined with other skills. The skill that has really made us successful and has helped us evolve incredibly quick technologically, is our ability to predict what is coming in the future.
And that is up to our imagination.
imagination
/ɪˌmadʒɪˈneɪʃn/
noun
the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.
Essentially, making shit up. But a lot of people talk about "having imagination" in the creativity sense, where it is about artistic pursuit. However, imagination is probably most value in the daily drudgery of existence, not to escape through daydreaming, but to predict what is the best next course of action.
“Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you.”
Sartre
But, because we spend a lot of time hung up on the past, a lot of our mental energy is spent in some way obsessing over it. And spending too much time dreaming about the future is going to come with its own costs. However, accepting that the past has happened and taking stock of our current situation and resources, looking into the future predictively means having a chance at seeing how things might go and planning actions to perform to get there, or avoid there as the case may be.
Everything that has brought us to this point today, has been "done" to us in the sense that the majority of it we never even chose. However, if we choose that we have responsibility for our life moving forward, no matter what has happened to us previously, we don't need to find blame, we just have to accept it, and move on.
On to what?
What do you want to move onto?
You are free.
Aren't you?
Well, if your decisions are being made on what has happened in your past, doesn't that mean you are tethered to them? Doesn't that mean you are limited by their anchor? That doesn't sound very free. And yes, we are all limited by who we are and what we have available to us, but it is also good to note that someone else with exactly the same situations and resources, but with different anchors, would go a different way. This means that, we needn't limit our range of choices based on the anchors we are used to. We can anchor to something else instead.
Something that helps us forward, rather than holds us back.
Which goes back to the prediction of the future. But rather just thinking about what might happen in the world, work out where you want to be at some point in the future and then predict what actions you will need to perform to get there. Once you have worked out in detail the timeline and the process forward. Take a good long hard look at it and ask yourself,
"Am I willing?"
If not, accept that you are not and then repeat the process for something that you are willing to work toward. Kill your dreaming, and realise your dreams. At least then it is possible to succeed at a lesser goal knowingly, without chasing a fantasy that you aren't going to actually work toward anyway. Which is probably a big part of the attraction of fantasising.
No risk.
But change, which is the nature of the world, always comes with risks to bear. And if you are willing to predict what the future actions will be to get you to where you want to go, and you are willing to perform those actions, you will also have to accept the risks that come with with both the successes and the failures. Life inevitably changes, but you will be an agent of your own change, rather than a victim of it.
So putting your predictive skills to the test,
What do you see in your future?
Taraz
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I totally agree that we often get stuck in the past, but it's refreshing to think about how we can use our experiences to shape a better future instead of just emphasising on them.
I wonder how much energy we spend on doing what isn't making us better.
Humanity developed from that same premise. Our “ancestors” survived when they were able to predict or foresee more difficult times. When they couldn't make ends meet, they had to decide to move. And that always involved a great deal of energy. Either in the anticipation or prediction, if you want to call it that, or even in the move itself. If there was a decision that wasn't the right one, the consequences would be very harsh.
Nowadays, we can say that a good percentage of us will never suffer from difficulties. The real difficulties that can threaten our integrity. That's why, living in a world or a reality where comfort is more than strictly necessary (and that's not a bad thing, of course), we end up “inventing” problems or having more destructive thoughts about our abilities.
But that's part of human nature, isn't it? Always wanting “more and better”
"Integrity" is a word that resonates with me. Act with integrity. Do what is the right thing to do, even if it might be a cost. hold yourself accountable, even if no one else cares.
This could be my life motto. I remember some decision that I've made that wasn't "favorable" to me, but that made me kept my integrity. Not my integrity on a physical sense, but integrity as a set of "not written rules".
Sometimes past experiences stands as a motivation to grow stronger in achieving better results but depends on who really wants to secure a better change because not everyone have the zeal to turnaround situation with the same positive mindset.
Too many are waiting for better times to act. There is only now.
Yes, intelligence, speed, and strength are great tools but without direction they become meaningless noise.
Imagination isn’t an escape from reality, it’s our way of shaping a real path toward the future.
Yet, we seem to burn the imagination resources we have, on being passively entertained.
I tend to think about things in the past and things I regret far too much. I also have a tendency to avoid risk in the future which I think makes me quite dull, but I guess sometimes dull isn't a horrible thing.
Dull isn't a horrible thing at all, unless it gets in the way of what you are looking to achieve. I think we might box ourselves too much, applying something like "dull" to too many aspects of our lives. For example, it is good to be dull with most investments, but it might not be good to be dull in many relationships. Is it possible for us to be more sensitive to our context?
Perhaps. Maybe full isn't the right word. Maybe overly cautious and it isn't always the best thing. It makes me wonder what adventures I may have missed out on.
Imagination isn't just creativity it's a survival skill, Predicting, adapting, choosing despite the past that's real freedom. What you do next shapes everything.
I never really thought of imagination as a tool to predict the future, but that makes so much sense. Most of the time, we use it just to escape reality, but using it to actually shape our future? That hits deep.
I could see a future where Crypto is accepted, people stop being greedy idiots and end wars and starvation...But I am not very optimistic that this will happen.
My ability to predict often brought me good money and when I was wrong I lost a little money. But the biggest financial harm in my life was caused by my thoughtless spending during times of good earnings.
So true. Imagination isn't just for artists, it's literally how we survive and thrive. Being able to mentally simulate what if scenarios before acting is what separates us from other species. Pure strength means nothing without foresight.
I've been daydreaming about starting a business for years but never actually took steps. Time to pick something realistic I'll actually commit to instead of just fantasizing about the perfect idea. If I die I die 😂 hope I don't
From experience I have learned to be very cautious about what I sign or promise. The only thing that takes me back to the past is the memory of Sofia.
right on. reminds me of this one that i read before.. how the successful ppl will shoot first, then aim.. no analysis paralyisis.
As they say the only certain things in the future are: Death and Taxes :)
I will definitely be paying lot's of taxes this year. I see in my future financial independence, I have now achieved it, but I still need to think about how to keep it and meet some of the other dreams that I have in my future. I wish I had a crystal ball on what would happen in the next 12 months at least...
Love that pic. It can be seen hoy cold your country is now. Right here, at norte, is quite the opposite
It moved me deeply!
Your reflections remind me of an anecdote that happened to me years ago. I was learning to drive in an old Volkswagen Beetle. Approaching an intersection, I made a significant mistake by crossing at the tail end of a yellow light on a busy avenue. This is where I believe imagination saved me. As I was already crossing, a van was slowly encroaching from my right, having the right of way. In that moment, my imagination kicked in, and I envisioned a disastrous collision if I didn’t act quickly to avoid it. Thanks to that visualization, I instinctively maneuvered to minimize the impact. Although I still collided with the van, the passenger side of my car crumpled under the force, and my body tensed with adrenaline. Yet somehow, I managed to maintain control of the vehicle, navigating it through the chaos.
What I learned during that harrowing experience is the sheer power of imagination--I didn't realise till now. It’s not merely a tool for artistic expression; it’s a vital survival mechanism that can influence our decision-making in critical moments. That visualization afforded me precious extra seconds, enabling me to angle my car in a way that would lessen the blow instead of simply slamming on the brakes in a straight line. As you rightly pointed out—imagination is the strongest, the fastest, and the smartest. It is a force that transcends creativity and propels us toward survival.
Your insights prompted me to reflect on how we can harness imagination to forecast our future actions rather than being shackled by past experiences. I could have allowed that accident to instill a deep-seated fear of driving or make me excessively cautious behind the wheel. Instead, I chose to embrace and I became more cautious at my driving.
My experience illustrates (I think) how imagination operates in those critical, split-second moments when everything hinges on our ability to foresee what lies ahead.
What a pivotal time it was, just as I returned to Mexico from Korea. With a portion of my savings, I purchased my first second-hand car. Unfortunately, in Mexico, we lack a robust culture of insurance. As a result, I lost my car and bore the costs for repairs to the van, which was hardly affected.