Better – ElPropósito5 min de lectura

Two components of a decision

"You must always try to be the best, but never believe you are the best" (Juan Manuel Fangio). What is the difference between pursuing an objective and reaching it? I like writing about life purpose. In fact, that is why I named my blog "El Propósito." A question I constantly ask myself is whether we ever truly reach our purpose in this life. Can we arrive at that final state where we become what we have always longed to be from the depths of our being, our purpose? The answer is simply no. Our life purpose is a higher aspiration. It is neither an objective, a vision nor a mission. Life purpose is exactly Fangio’s line: the lighthouse that guides us all our lives as we try to be better, under an aspiration we will always want to reach. It is also no donkey chasing a carrot. It is an ethical and moral lighthouse we can return to again and again to settle many of our personal doubts, including one of the most basic: is what I want to do good or bad?

I heard Fangio’s line and liked it, although the word "try" bothered me a little at first. After taking it in, I realized that at the end of the day what we do is try, try and try. Every day we are caught up in decisions we have no choice but to make, and many of them may only eat up our time. Still, there are two or three that deserve our full attention, decisions we must make knowing they will affect our own good and that of those around us. In those two or three daily decisions, we are trying to play the odds in the hope that luck will be on our side. Most of our decisions have two fundamental components. One is the experience we have accumulated in life, which gives us a basis for deciding. The other is a large dose of luck we simply cannot control. The very serious problem, or mistake, of believing ourselves the best comes from ignoring the first component and thinking it is all a game of luck, a game in which we are the best.

Our experiences, however painful or fortunate, must always lead to reflection that, as Ray Dalio puts it, helps us progress (Pain + Reflection = Progress). I must admit this is one of the things I most admire about Dalio, because after writing that principle in his book Principles, he put it into practice after the death of his son Devon. That is where I finally pinned down what a principle means: a fundamental idea that establishes how something works, one that holds in every circumstance and anywhere in the universe. Without a doubt, a person who has lost a child and can tell the world "I have put into practice one of the principles I myself discovered" is one of those people who always try to be the best and never believe they are.

How long should we keep trying? How many times? Here I would like to quote the Bible, when Peter comes to our Lord and asks how many times he must forgive. Our Lord answered, "seventy times seven." The number itself matters less than its connection to the word try, trying again and again. Life is exactly that: trying to pursue our life purpose, and when we feel we are not getting there despite every consistent step we take, reflecting and making new decisions based on that reflection. Teams, whether in sports or in business, constantly try to be as efficient as possible with the few resources available to them. I say few because of the infinite nature of the aspirations and dreams we can have. We all want more, and we know as a principle that resources are limited, so we must always try to make the best decisions. How can we make good decisions? First, be clear about the purpose behind the decisions we are making. Second, start down the road of trying to be the best. Third, never believe we are the best.

Are you trying to be the best, or do you believe you are the best?

Warm regards and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

• P.S. This week’s VELA:
• What I was watching: 5 Harsh Truths That Will Change Your Life. From the author of "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fk," these five truths are helping me start February with plenty of excitement and plenty of realism. Thank you, Renato, for sharing it with me. It carries a dose of the great school of philosophy we share. A big hug.
  – What I was listening to: Odio el mérito (I hate merit). Antonio Escohotado has been one of my best discoveries on the web, someone I admire for correcting his ideas in time and having the courage and wisdom to tell the world how wrong he had been.
  – What I was reading: I managed to finish Elon Musk in January. I haven’t chosen February’s book yet, but I think this year will alternate between novels and somewhat more technical books. If you have a recommendation, it’s welcome 🙂
  – What I was learning: Las consecuencias graves del Ozempic (The serious consequences of Ozempic, and an alternative protocol for losing fat). Dr. La Rosa is one of my favorites on YouTube and someone I have learned a lot from, especially his fasting protocol. This video confirms what my wife (who is diabetic) and I have talked about: people who, without the slightest care, start taking a medication designed to treat a disease like diabetes and then use it for other purposes, in this case losing weight.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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