Update: If you have followed my story over the years, you will know that I have been obsessed with numbers for a long time. Definitely since both my parents died in the year 2013.
After all this time I still do not know the full reason how and why it all got started. I can tell you that it has made a huge imprint in my life. Sometimes I feel a little smarter, and at other times I feel like I was grossly mislead.
Today the world feels completely different than it was when I began this journey. The world appears to have fallen off its track. Maybe, the world has always been this way. Perhaps this number journey forced me to open my eyes.
People on the ground who follow the news, the stock market, and any data set, can tell you that the numbers do not always tell you the reality of life on the ground, on the front lines, and in the trenches. Real life is a lot messier than the numbers can show. Many truths can hide in this mess.
People like to throw numbers around to justify their decisions, and to make it look like they are making the correct policy decisions. The tricky part is that the numbers tell different stories to different people. And unfortunately, those with enough power can manipulate the numbers to their advantage. Sometimes the data set is so small (compared to the whole) that it is irrelevant in the big picture.
When my life felt like it was spinning out of control, I was made to think that I could use the numbers to control my world. What I discovered was that the numbers controlled me, but only to the degree that I allowed. If I let the numbers fall into the background of my life, I have much more control of it, and much more control of my happiness.
There is power in the idea of “mind over matter.” You can use this power to create motivation. My actions can take matter and mold it into something useful and hopefully something beneficial for others.
Data takes only a snapshot of one moment in time. Life on the ground, on the front lines, and in the trenches cannot be fully defined in a snapshot. If you look only at data sets, you can be grossly mislead.
movingforwardslowly 