Saturday, December 20, 2008

Path Dependence: “the idea that decisions taken in the past limit the scope of decisions in the present (and future).” –Oxford University Press

To what degree can we broadly claim that our futures are dependent on the decisions we’ve made in the past? To what degree do people limit their potential or their ambition based on a wrong turn here or another detour there? I believe that our lives and our desires for achievement are strongly path-dependent – that is, our next steps along the paths of success are strongly dependent on the steps taken this morning, yesterday, last week, last month, and the list goes on. If you take a pencil and trace your steps over time, you may sketch out a complex, multi-linear trajectory of individual footsteps that resemble a game of “connect the dots.” And after you are done connecting the dots, you may or may not like the resulting picture, but it is important to observe it along with every other picture posted along your metaphorical path. Why? Because the success and purpose of your next steps are pretty much dependent on it. As the saying goes, “those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it.”

What does this have to do with ambition? Well, when you continue to make so many choices in one direction, you may find that you have to work twice as hard to correct those steps and create a new path in life. In addition, no two paths look alike. It may take one man ten years to become a successful entrepreneur, while it may take another man half that amount of time. The decisions you make impact what road you can take towards a given outcome. But regardless of the detour, there is no reason to give up. Difficulty does not warrant stagnancy. When it gets difficult, that is when you should work even harder to accomplish the goal that you have in mind. The ambition in you should rise up, and you should use it as fuel to push through a hurdle or a tough spot that appears to trap you in a pit of sinking sand. Never buy into the saying that “I’m just living life according to the cards that I was dealt.” Instead, remind yourself that you hold ALL the cards – you just have to play them in the right order. And if you make a mistake, then keep on playing, because the game is not over until you say it is over. Society does not dictate your success – in fact, it is silent on that topic. So why not define your success for yourself and define your own path? Everyone hits a hurdle or two along their own roads – it is how they decide to deal with those hurdles that will ultimately determine the proximity of their next steps to their dream goal in life.