The Duality of Life

I always believe in the rule of duality: everything in life is just a matter of TWO choices. You chose the first or the second option is really up to you. After all, there are really NO bad decisions. It is how you react to your decision that defines your success.


As much as I don't want to heed anyone's advice, I still wouldn't want to miss a thing. What they say could be true and perhaps an effective piece of advice.

If I caught myself difficult to decide, I always take into account the details and important considerations to resolve the issue. This is my way of assuring myself that I did my best of self-assessment before taking my decision. Needless to say, this is driven by fear of result.

As of this moment, my dilemma is about these two compelling reasons: live life to the fullest (present) OR save and invest (future).

To live life to the fullest is to experience the best things in life what God has given to us. Money may not have the capacity to buy happiness, but the things that could make us happy involves money.

In other words, happiness still has a cost. And we couldn't afford not to be happy even if the price to pay is high. While we are young, there is so much to enjoy that our elders could have done.

Most of the elderly people regret of not having the chance to experience their dreams of travel and adventure. There's still time but the problem is their health conditions. Aching joints, hypertension, and impaired vision are some of the inhibiting factors. Thus, it is reasonable to try things while still young.

To experience a variety of adventure is tempting: beach-bumming, concerts, amusement parks, out of the country tour, etc. I always thought I would never let myself get stuck in my own city for the rest of my life.

There is so much to explore: interesting people, places, events, experiences and adventure. If I keep on living where I had lived, I will always get what I always had.

On the flip side, I strongly believe that nothing can go wrong with saving and investing. To live in the present is compelling but the future must also be considered.

Retirement pensions may not be enough as the money loses its value due to increasing inflation year after year. If there's nothing left aside for the future, what would there be to look forward to? 

To clear things out, saving may not last until you retire. Saving ends until you invest. The main purpose of saving is to have the capacity to capture every opportunity that comes our way.

Remember, cash is king! It's like having few extra bullets left aside for hunting when there's no food left to eat. Although the money saved may be used for emergency purposes, that should never be the sole reason but for investment.

Saving is for losers, investing is for winners. If you are saving but don't have plans to invest, sooner it will lose its value. 

Advice could also be good or bad. There's an advice that we perceive as good but in second thought, it's not. I'm not promoting a deeper thought of advice before taking actions.

I'd rather suggest taking any decisions and assess the results. If you are happy with it, then clearly that is what's best for you. In contrast, if you're not happy with your decision, move on and learn fast. Next time you encounter the same situation, you know what to do.

Since we only live once, we don't have the chance to try both options. I do believe in both but one seems to be a bad advice. That advice is luring us for a straight road when in fact it is a crooked path.

Whatever it is, bottom line is we make ourselves happy and we are responsible of the consequences in the decision that we take. I do not recommend the best advice because that seems to be unfair to you.

We have different priorities, opinions and philosophies in life. There is no one to decide but you alone. Steer and take charge!