We can’t be certain what the future would be for each of us because like in regression analysis, there’s always this there’s always this error term—that unexplained variance, the residual that you can’t quantify beforehand like you do with your variables. It’s built into the model itself, an acknowledgment that not everything fits neatly into our predictions. In life, it’s what we call the unexpected things or things out of our control.
Here’s the paradox though: while we can’t control everything, we are not entirely powerless either. Our today’s activities and engagements do indicate the direction we are heading, opening doors to futures we either desired or not. The variables we choose—our daily decisions, our commitments, our habits—yes, they matter. They shape the equation.
So I realized that if we want to become someone we really want to be proud of, then our present self should live life towards that future we want to have. Not too rigid to be easily frustrated about life’s surprises but rather be flexible enough to have goals while holding the specifics lightly—accounting for that error term we know will always be there.