Options.

"The future belongs to those who prepare for it today."  

- Malcom X

Prepare. It's an intimidating word, is it not?  Generally upon hearing those two syllables something triggers the neurons in my brain to induce a flow of anxious unease.  It's as if whatever I'm currently preoccupied with is a distraction and therefore a device of procrastination.  Ah, procrastination, he and I have quite the history together.  I could go on to further discuss the intricacies of mankind's affair with procrastination, but in that very act I'd be guilty of the topic, postponing subject for a tangent.  My question then is how does one prepare for that which one does not see?  What preparation can be made for an event or state of being that even guesses cannot predict?  We are expected to be ready for the future's tests while being utterly blind to its reality.  

How does one prepare?

My oversimplified answer lies in one boring word: options. 

One might say that I am currently in the very middle of the age of decision, on the threshold between an adolescence of preparation and an adulthood of action.  As I have taken the inevitable journey through potential career paths one fact has become excruciatingly clear to me; the more time I spend deciding to do something, the less time I will have to succeed at it.  

This notion unavoidably poses the question -- am I supposed to just settle?

I consider myself a humanist, and I couldn't be more passionate about the idea that our species is capable of great things, both good and evil.  I believe our capacity and potential, if fully understood, would shock and terrify us.  Then why should any of us settle for less than what we truly desire?  If you are tempted to settle or do with your life what you feel is safe, despite having a innate knowledge that you were meant for something more, please watch the following video.  Just because something has been done one way for an extensive amount of time does not mean it should continue to be done that way.

WATCH ME

How does one prepare? How does one avoid settling?  I believe that it is by giving yourself options.  Life is not a fork in the road until the future actually comes.  Until then, it is possible to spread yourself, to walk in several directions, and take a look at things from multiple views.  Pursue a number of paths, and then you will have freedom to choose.  For if one path is not what you expected you will have prepared for another.  If some tragedy beyond your control finds its way into your life and prevents you from progressing in one area, you can adapt and progress another way. 

In  essence, preparing for the unknown is an act of initiative.  It is stretching yourself to do more than you initially thought possible.  Life will deal you more than you expect, so why not be willing to do more than expected with your life?

You want to be a doctor? Do what it takes to be the best doctor, but at the same time learn about business or administration.  You want to be a chef? Do what it takes to become the best chef, but at the same time stretch yourself to gain experience in public health. 
Let us all strive to be Renaissance Men and Women.  The world desperately needs it.

Give yourself options. You owe it to your future.