Congrats! The Black Swan

Congratulations to all of my triathlete buddies who just finished Ironman Lake Placid. I had several peeps from far and yon doing the race. From reports, it sounded like tough conditions out there with the rain and cold, so way to stick it out! Special congrats go to Sheila, who finished her 11th Ironman. I can’t imagine! Way to tough it out like the Crackhead you are! I had thoughts of trying to sign up for next year’s race online, but it was sold out before it even opened online. Oh well!

I have been reading The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb. It is a very interesting book about how totally unexpected, rare occurrences shape our lives, and have shaped history since the beginning. The thing is, we think we have explanations for these occurrences after the fact, when, in fact, we never saw it coming.

The book’s title comes from an anecdote in which naturalists used to assume that all swans were white. This was until one of them visited Australia and discovered a species of black swan. Just because all of the swans up until that point in history where white, did not mean that the Black Swan didn’t exist! We just hadn’t discovered it yet.

When I consider my own life, there have been several major incidents that have shaped the person I am now and have led to the situation I’m in now that were completely random. For instance, it was completely by chance that I met my wife, which led to my becoming a father, etc. There are other events that take place in our lives that we think we caused through hard work, perseverance, etc., when in fact, there is a strong possibility that whatever the event, it was a completely random occurrence. Hard word had nothing to do with it!

Anyway, it’s a very interesting look at the way the human mind works. We always try to rationalize and explain things. Perhaps the best thing to do, when possible, is just accept life as it comes and try to make the most of it. You should also be prepared to capitalize on opportunities when they present themselves, and not over-analyze or rationalize it beyond what it really is.