LIfe is not narrative, I have this fantasy land interpretation of my life, as sequential events that lead to predetermined conclusion, that I myself chose during at some point. I've always had this interpretation, I called it "the movie", the perfect life, where everything happens for a reason and it all makes sense. I still believe everything happens for a reason and everything will make sense looking backwards. We can't use this same thinking to forecast the future, because the future is almost completely out of my hands. I didn't even consider Electrical Engineering at any point in my life, until the month where I had to choose my discipline as an engineer. Ever since I was 14 it was make the next facebook make money and then not go to university or if I was going to university it would be computer science. My parents told me to do computer engineering and it wasn't too far off so I complied. But now when people ask me why I chose electrical engineering, I highlight all the good reasons as to why I chose it, but my explanation fails to acknowledge that it was partly out of my control. Moreso the reason I chose electrical engineering over computer engineering is because electrical engineering is much more broad. Getting back to the point, I didn't even know electrical engineering was a thing, I honestly thought it was kind of weird. Perspective is something that we always lack, the narrative outlook locks you into a pre-determined life, one that may not even be an ideal life. It's not easy to tap out of this narrative thinking style, I think it comes alive whenever you think that's the end, like I'll complete electrical engineering and then go on to work in xxx. What if xxx becomes obselete in 2 years? what if being a doctor is useless? It may seem that it's stupid to consider this, but think about computer scientists. The A.I workflow now has increased the productivity of computer scientists, to the point where they don't need that many people in the field. They have lowered the barrier of entry. This is not something that was predictable, the future is not predictable. I know I am making bold claims, and I honestly don't know the antidote to not having a narrative outlook on life. My friend once told me they just live life, and I don't think she ended anywhere she wanted to be since it was very poorly defined. I guess be more fluid than rigid, but if you are like air, you will just breeze with the trends, but water will flow with everything. I have stumbled upon a bruce lee quote, now I gotta say it. "Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee ( the GOAT).
The nature of people is the same