It’s all an odds game.
Life is the interplay between probability and choice.
The choices that you make increase or decrease the probability of a certain outcome occurring.
You can tell me until you’re blue in the face that you want to earn a Division-1 scholarship, but skipping training sessions, eating garbage food, and holding back effort on days where you don’t feel great are choices you make that decrease the probability of that happening.
You can’t be upset about the outcome if the choices that you make are in direct conflict with your odds of accomplishing that outcome.
Each and everyday I discover more about the world we exist in.
Which means that each and everyday I have more choices to make and more outcomes to chase.
But, I have clear objectives.
My “why” and my goals guide me to make the choices that increase the probability of accomplishing said goals and honoring said “why.”
Everything outside of that is just noise that distracts me from my purpose.
Do things happen in contrast to the odds and the choices you make? Absolutely.
By definition, though, that is the exception, not the rule.
More often than not, the outcome is going to line up with the sum of your choices.
Get clear on what you want out of life and make the choices that stack the deck in your favor.
Your future self will thank you.
Best,
Zach
Dr. Zach Guiser, PT, DPT, CSCS