Is the future predictable? According to the author of the book “Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction”, it’s a grey area.
So is reality clocklike or cloud-like? Is the future predictable or not? These are false dichotomies… We live in a world of clocks and clouds and a vast jumble of other metaphors. Unpredictability and predictability coexist uneasily in the intricately interlocking systems that make up our bodies, our societies, and the cosmos.
Lately I’ve been working around opening up to more opportunities, being curious and creating space in my life. Call it confirmation bias, but as I picked up this book again after putting it down 4 months ago, a lot of things stood out:
…broadly speaking, superforecasting demands thinking that is open-minded, careful, curious, and—above all—self-critical. It also demands focus. The kind of thinking that produces superior judgment does not come effortlessly. Only the determined can deliver it reasonably consistently, which is why our analyses have consistently found commitment to self-improvement to be the strongest predictor of performance.
What if an antidote for attachment and for the uncertainty that inevitably comes with detaching from outcomes, was the combination of curiosity and consistent self development?
When you’re curious you get closer to predicting what’s predictable and when you constantly work on improving yourself, you prepare for what’s unpredictable. You’re throwing your best self into the future and let him/her face it with an open mind and heart.