The End Of History

You still have a lot more growth ahead of you

Photo by Mr Cup / Fabien Barral on Unsplash

The moment I finished high school, I had college figured out, or so I thought. I spent the summer planning what hobbies I would have, where I would hang out, and what types of people I would spend my time with. Halfway through my first year of university, I was not in a position that I could have predicted in the slightest. I was building a business, I had a really great (albeit peculiar) friend group, and I spent most of my time skateboarding and playing Catan rather than programming and making art as I planned. I was happy with the life that I was building and the growth that I was experiencing, but there was no way that I could have foreseen things panning out how they did. In my fervent planning efforts, I had forgotten that I was still evolving — it was not the end of history.

I really enjoy making plans. For most of my life, I’ve been disorganized and short-sighted to a fault, so since becoming a more organized person I have grown to love the idea of creating a map of my future. While the idea of becoming the master of your destiny is appealing, living wholly by this philosophy might get you into some trouble; it's hard to anticipate how your wants and needs will change as YOU change.

There is this concept called the "End of History Illusion." It is basically the idea that we make decisions for our future selves under the false belief that our current view of the world won’t change much. This is an issue because we are constantly evolving; your day-to-day experiences are gradually morphing you into a new person. Furthermore, big life events such as beginning college or moving to a city will inevitably alter your worldview. Learning how to balance a need to plan with the unpredictability of the future is necessary to make competent decisions. 

Planning is great, but having a white-knuckled grip on what your future holds will only end in frustration. Leave room for new opportunities and don’t be too strong-willed about how you will reach your aims. You are still growing; this is not the end of history.