While reading the last pages of The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb today I came across some nice guidelines for your conduct of life, or your attitude towards life, that deal with being in control instead of letting others control you. That makes them nice interpretations of SCG 2. Have fun reading and implementing:
- Missing a train is only painful if you run after it! Likewise, not matching the idea of success others expect from you is only painful if that’s what you are seeking.
- You stand above the rat race and the pecking order, not outside of it, if you do so by choice.
- Quitting a high-paying position, if it is your decision, will seem a better payoff than the utility of the money involved (this may seem crazy, but I’ve tried it and it works). This is the first step toward the stoic’s throwing a four-letter word at fate.
- You have far more control over your life if you decide on your criterion by yourself.
- Be aggresive; be the one to resign, if you have the guts.
- It is more difficult to be a loser in a game you set up yourself.
- In Black Swan terms, this means that you are exposed to the improbable only if you let it control you. You always control what you do; so make this your end.
Another nice one, thought not SCG 2, is this one:
When you develop your opinions on the basis of weak evidence, you will have difficulty interpreting subsequent information that contradicts these opinions, even if this new information is obviously more accurate.