Predictability versus controllability in life experience

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the concepts of predictability and controllability in life experiences, exploring how individuals perceive their daily decisions and the outcomes that often follow. Participants reflect on the monotony of life, the predictability of certain behaviors, and the implications of these observations on personal fulfillment and decision-making.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses frustration with the predictability of life, suggesting that many outcomes are foreseeable and often lead to mediocrity.
  • Another participant humorously notes the drawbacks of taking vacations, highlighting the financial and workload burdens that often accompany them.
  • Concerns about mental health are raised, with a suggestion that feelings of boredom or dissatisfaction might warrant professional consultation.
  • A participant shares their ability to predict the actions of others, questioning why people engage in behaviors that lead to negative outcomes despite knowing the likely results.
  • There is a reflection on the balance between enjoyable outcomes and the repetitive nature of daily life, with a hint of self-critique regarding personal potential.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the predictability of life and its impact on personal satisfaction, with no clear consensus on whether this predictability is inherently negative or simply a part of life. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the implications of these observations on individual choices and happiness.

Contextual Notes

Participants' reflections are influenced by personal experiences and subjective interpretations of predictability and control, with varying degrees of acknowledgment of mental health considerations and lifestyle choices.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in philosophical discussions about life choices, predictability, and personal fulfillment may find this conversation relevant.

P4PPY
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Predictability:
Everything in this world has a certain amount of predictability; some call it “odds”.
I’m still young at 33, but I find it boring and redundant to even bother doing a lot of things in my life now. In some cases, it irritates me when someone asks me for my advice, or if someone asks me to make a decision.

Advice: They generally don’t listen, and it’s been proven every generation that young people don’t listen to old people. If they did, most of the children in this world would have a career, home, car and steady income before they even had sex. Can’t fight nature can we?

Decision making: My friends call me a pessimist, I prefer to call it common knowledge. Here’s an example of what I am referring to; A lady friend of mine tells me her brother is coming through town and has had some tough times lately. He needs to crash on her couch for a couple weeks before he gets back on his feet. She asks me if she should do it.
Now taking the information I know… He’s a good guy, just down on his luck lately. He’s a hard worker, drug free, and respects people as a whole, normally.

Anyone who has ever lived knows what happens here right?

He moves in and for the first 2 weeks he’s doing dishes, vacuuming, cooking dinner and picking up after himself. Why? Because he doesn’t want to be a burden… he wants to earn his keep. But what happens after those 2 weeks? Why does it almost always go the same way?

Skip ahead 2 weeks now…

He’s sitting on the couch watching Oprah and eating Bon-Bon’s. He still has no job, his clothes are all over the place and the sink is full of dishes.

You know it’s going to happen… so why even allow it to?
This is just an example of course… and this scenario can easily be explained. But there are a lot of things that happen in this world that are so damned predictable that it boggles me to even know why some do them.

You race out the door to go to the store only to find out you forget your wallet after getting to the checkout line. (Why race ever… ?)
You live pay check to pay check knowing that if your vehicle breaks down your screwed… but you still buy that DVD!

Justify it however you like, I’m bored with knowing what’s going to happen day in and day out. It’s like life isn’t much of a challenge… just mediocrity.

There are things out of your control of course.
Death is not controllable, everything that you can control revolves around living.

~Trapper
 
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P4PPY said:
Predictability:
Everything in this world has a certain amount of predictability

You need a vacation.
 
Possible :)

But what happens when you take vacations?

You spend way to much money, come back broke and exhausted, no one does the work while your gone and you have mounds stacked up in your office.

So you take a week off, go to Colorado and snowboard your butt off for a week only to come back and have twice as much work to do for the next week.

The only thing you have to show for it is some cool pictures and maybe a suntan :)

I'd rather cash in that week of leave and go buy a quad! muhahaha!

yah... I need a vacation me thinks!
 
P4PPY said:
Possible :)

You might also talk to a doctor, you might be clinically depressed.
They have drugs for that.
I'm not joking. It can be serious business.
 
JoeDawg said:
You might also talk to a doctor, you might be clinically depressed.
They have drugs for that.
I'm not joking. It can be serious business.

I'm pretty happy in my life.

This was more of a discussion I have been having with myself lately.

My friends call me "The oracle" as a joke because I predict everything they do. If I'm not right about something... I usually pretty damned close lol.

Does nobody else encounter this in their life? I guess what I'm asking here is, What is the next step of this generic life we live? Or am I just not living to my potential maybe?

I work 2.5 jobs, raise my daughter by myself and go to school part time. In my spare time the kid and I are playing on the 4 wheelers or camping on some remote island in SE Alaska.

Another question I was trying to ask was, Why do we do the things we do everyday when we already know the outcome? If the outcome is good, that answers itself right there... but if the outcome is bad, or not in our favor, why do we bother doing the initial steps that work up to it?

Maybe I should have done drugs! :)
 

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