Challenge the Assumptions of your life
Generally its said that good decisions should be based on facts, not assumptions. It sounds like sensible advice until you realize that almost every important decision in our life is built on assumptions. In fact, if we refused to assume anything about the future, we would hardly be able to plan our lives at all.
Think about the goals you have for the next five or ten years. Maybe you want to buy a house, start a business, pursue higher education, retire your parents, or simply build a comfortable life. Every one of these plans quietly depends on things you cannot know for certain. You assume you’ll continue earning. You assume your profession will still be relevant. You assume your health will allow you to work. You assume the economy won’t take an unexpected turn. Most of us never question these assumptions because they seem perfectly reasonable.
And they are.
The problem is not that we make assumptions. The problem is that, over time, we stop seeing them as assumptions. They begin to feel like guarantees.
A family that has relied on a single source of income for years starts believing that income will always be there. Someone who has spent decades mastering a particular skill assumes it will remain valuable throughout their career. We postpone spending time with our parents because we’ll “visit next month.” We delay pursuing our dreams because there will always be another opportunity. We keep pushing important conversations to tomorrow because tomorrow seems inevitable.
Life has a way of reminding us that it isn’t.
A sudden illness, an economic slowdown, a technological shift, an accident, or a single unexpected phone call can change the direction of our lives in ways we never imagined. These events are painful not only because they happen, but because they shatter assumptions we didn’t even know we were relying on.
Does that mean we should stop trusting the future?
Not at all. A life without assumptions would also be a life without hope, ambition, or long-term planning. Every student who chooses a degree assumes it will open doors. Every entrepreneur assumes there will be customers. Every parent saving for a child’s education assumes there is a future worth preparing for. Assumptions are what allow us to dream beyond today.
But some assumptions are too important to leave unprotected.
If your family depends on one income, ask yourself what would happen if that income stopped for six months. If your career depends on one specialised skill, think about how you would adapt if your industry changed. If all your savings are invested in one place, consider what happens when markets move against you. Preparing for these possibilities isn’t pessimism. It’s simply acknowledging that certainty is a luxury life rarely offers.
Perhaps that is the balance we all need to learn.
Make plans. Dream boldly. Trust people. Believe in tomorrow. But every now and then, pause and ask yourself a simple question: What assumptions is your life resting on? If the answer involves something that could fundamentally change the way you live, give yourself something to fall back on.
The future has always belonged to those who can hope for the best without assuming it is guaranteed, and that’s what robustness and resilience means!