MEN SHOULD CARRY CATASTROPHE ON THEIR BACKS Keeping an eye on our future can be very clarifying. Whenever I see a man who seems lost in his life today, it is inevitably the case that he has lost his vision for the future that he is building. Having a vision for our future helps us align our energies.  It gives correct direction to where we should be spending our efforts today. It’s difficult to feel engaged with life without a vision for our future. **************** Considering that the future is always going to be uncertain and unpredictable, how should we proceed with envisioning it? My advice is — be pessimistic!  Don’t count on the future being as good or better than today.  Expect things to go wrong.  Expect disasters.  Have a negative temperament.   Not being naive as a man is in part having this negative temperament.  Not being naive is knowing that disasters await us — that the people and things we can count on today, we may not be able to count on tomorrow. Answer the uncertainty of future with pessimism. **************** Keeping an eye on future catastrophes and doing one’s best to prepare for them — this is also a crucial dimension of leadership. We expect our leaders to be future-oriented.  We are expecting that by following a particular leader, our future might turn out better than without that leader. As a leader, accept this responsibility.  Whether you are a leader on a big scale, or just a leader in your family unit, those who are following you are looking to you to cover their future, to prepare for the disasters to come. — Om Rupani OmRupani.org www.OmRupani.org