Last year has learned us that anything bad can happen all of a sudden. The problem with the unexpected is that it’s extremely difficult to anticipate it. If we think about a potential outcome it will probably not be what happens.
An example: If we expect that we could get a flat tire we prepare for the situation. Instead of a flat tire there might be someone who drives into your car. The benefit from preparation is that you anticipate that a problem will arise and that you are as ready as you can possibly be. You might have bought a spare tire for solving the flat tire, but need the extra tire because of the accident. In the end the other person could be at fault which makes it so that you wont have to cover all the costs. Yet you didn’t plan on having your car damaged but because of your anticipation you are ready for whatever crosses your path.
What we anticipate seldom occurs: but what we least expect generally happens. – Benjamin Disraeli
Preparing for the possibilities allows us to know what could happen and to prevent it from having a negative impact. If you prepare for the worst you will be ready for any small issues that come up. An example if you notice that their are financial issues in your company you know you have to continue to sharpen your skills incase the company you work for goes bankrupt. You know you needs skills to be hired by someone else. If instead the company doesn’t go bankrupt but they have to see who they can keep they will keep the person that has grown the most and they see the best potential.
Having things happen all of a sudden also has benefits, it keeps us on our toes. Like the example above shows preparing for the worst will make sure that you are ready for anything coming your way. Instead of thinking that everything will be ok without any extra effort you can go the extra mile to improve your position. Anticipating potential risks will allow you to grab a hold of any opportunities coming up. If everyone would always be correct in their expectations it would be difficult to have new opportunities to araise out of nothing. Things would become rather boring if we are always right. .