A knife, a lock, and the end of all your well-thought-out plans

There are so many things in life that I worry about and prepare for, but never really materialize.

Whenever I go for a hike, I’ll have a knife on my belt — but for what? To fight off a wild animal? Cut rope to build a bridge? Make a spear??

I honestly don't know, but I?will?carry that knife with me, just in case.

Another example: I asked a specialist to replace the old locks when we moved into our first house. He offered to give the building a security check and advise us on how to make it more burglar-resistant.?

I looked forward to hearing about the fancy,?next-generation lock ?he was bound to recommend.

That, sadly, didn't happen.?

Instead of focusing on locks, he explained that burglars broke in using the easiest method possible: generally smashing a window or kicking in a door.

Your fancy, triple-rated titanium lock can’t do a thing about a stone going through some glass.

And how about your computer's security?

Is it protected with a complicated password and 4096 RSA encryption to keep hackers out? Will they need a million-dollar supercomputer and thousands of years to crack your password??

Or... can they just?drug you and hit you with a $5 wrench ?to gain access??

I think we know the most realistic scenario, even though it’s likely you’re optimizing for something else entirely.??

So much of our lives is based on assumptions. We see other people doing something — or are told that’s the way things are done by a mentor — and we don’t question it. We simply keep on repeating our actions until we’re forced to see that what we believed is wrong.

It happens in business all the time.

How much effort is spent preparing documents that nobody ever reads? How much time is spent creating protocols for events that never (or rarely) expire??

True success and achievement comes from not following the status quo, but looking at a problem from another perspective.

Don’t be the person that spends thousands on a lock, only to be beaten by a rock someone found on the ground.

Assumptions, as they say, are the mother of all screw-ups.