Scenario Prepping as an Investment Strategy

I’m reading a Bertrand Russell book right now that talks about happiness and
how to achieve it in the modern world. One of his main points, which I think
is excellent, is that modern, first-world people are unhappy because our
basic necessities are met, and that the struggle for those (and the
achievement of them) was what made us happy.

I have been thinking about another (yet I think related) facet of
unhappiness for years: options. I think for many, the more options
you have the less happy you are with any option you end up choosing. This
applies to everything from DVDs to careers and spouses.

Your selection always sucks because despite the fact that you get
moderate happiness from your current situation, you can’t help but
wonder if you would have been happier if you went another route. It’s the
good/better problem, where you let the best be the enemy of the great.

Anyway, I think this is tightly bound to the fact that you aren’t struggling
just to have any good option, which is what Russell was writing
about. If you have a tiny TV and you only get one channel (and even then
only sometimes) then whatever comes on is seems inordinately brilliant. Why?
Because the alternative is nothing to watch at all–kind of like freezing in
the winter.

So how about that as an exercise? The next time you’re unhappy with your
options, just pick one from the bunch and pretend it’s all you have. ::