Change

How do you all deal with “change”?

Where possible, in advance.

I’m always doing risk management in my life. I have financial reserves and contingency plans. I know how I’m going to support myself if both my wife and I lose our jobs. I know the worst case scenario and imagine my life if that happens — and although I won’t like it, accept it in advance.

I have decision trees, sometimes that indicate the various outcomes of a situation, and have even calculated probabilities. These help me make choices that I feel good about at the time. I decided to turn down a job that fits my career perfectly last year because the decision tree indicated the probability I would get fired was high, given the nature of the person I would report to and my own personality. I guess I’ve gotten comfortable assessing risks, and outcomes.

Part of it, is learning to recognize those areas where you don’t have a choice. It takes the pain out of making difficult decisions when you recognize that there are certain things you have to accept, certain constraints you can’t change.

I have also learned how to test the market, so to speak, before making major decisions. This isn’t always possible, but it’s often easy to determine what your life will be like BEFORE you make the decision. Actually live in the situation, without fully committing, before you commit.

I took a course for investors a while ago, and learned that many investors already know what is going to happen in terms of sales and costs, with a surety, before they invest in a big change.

And then, there is the part you can’t control. I used to worry and say “what if THIS happens???”. My Dad, said “then you deal with it, just like you dealt with the uncertainties of your immigration to America, with your marriage, with the health problems of your children”…..all of which I dealt with successfully (so far).

I like what Marcus Aurelius was purported to say — don’t worry about tomorrow — you will face its challenges with the same effectiveness you are facing the challenges of today.

Congratulations!

I know the worst case scenario and imagine my life if that happens — and although I won’t like it, accept it in advance.

I had a really terrible boss once that was making me jump through all sorts of hoops and had me living in fear. I met with my wife and we discussed what our lives would look like if I lost my job. We put a response plan in place and I started looking for other career opportunities.

It really helped me to know that the worst he could do to me was fire me. My family would stand by me and we would get through it together.