Are You Tired of Living Through History?

Me too. It's exhausting

The Course of Empire - Desolation by Thomas Cole (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” — J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954  

I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of living through history.

Yes, yes — ironic, coming from a guy whose whole brand is associated with culling lessons from history to help leaders in the present.

But the regular drumbeat of catastrophes, crises, and calamities (or near ones, at least) is exhausting.

It all just seems so…uncertain. As if we’re constantly living on the edge, unsure of what happens next.

And you know humans: we despise uncertainty. It’s vague and amorphous. Uncontrollable.

Oh, but we’ll take risk over uncertainty any day — at least with risk, you’re exercising a choice, so it feels like there’s a level of preci…