Crazy title. I couldn’t really think of a better title, but here is the logic behind it.
I read an article that described some of the interesting qualities of billionaires. One of them was a tolerance of ambiguity. One person remarked that OCD suffers, like perfectionists, have a low tolerance of uncertainty. I would concur. Germ-a-phobes, what-if sufferers, and people with scrupulosity issues probably have the same problem. They want assurances that they are not going to get sick or not going to hell. They don’t want to take the risk. They want to know. And if they cannot know they might end up doing some ritual.
It sort of made me think how opposite ends of one trait can describe billionaires and OCD suffers.
When I had OCD, I had difficultly with uncertainty. I wanted assurances that nothing bad was going to happen and that everything was going to be OK.
Now, I can handle it pretty well. I run a photography business and I manage some pretty expensive projects. A lot of things can go wrong. That by itself would drive people nuts. Normally, people would want some assurances that they are not going to lose money if things go wrong. It is nice to think that there are guarantees in life, but in reality nothing goes quite as planned. I had a model go sick on the day of a photo shoot. I didn’t pay the model but I wasted some money because of the missed day. C’est La Vie. That is the way it goes. What can you do. All I can think is to try again.
When I go on a trip, I always forget something. It could be anything; I wouldn’t know until I am well into the trip. The only things I do double and maybe triple check is that I have my cameras (I have two of them) and some photo gear. If I forget small things like toothpaste, I could go to CVS or Walgreens. But if they are both cameras, I am somewhat screwed. I could actually go to a photo rental place and spend a lot of money for the rental but I would rather not do that.
I try to minimize the risk but you cannot eliminate them. It could be a very cloudy day. It could be a very windy day. The model might get lost or stuck in traffic. All sort of things can go wrong. The reason I do it is because I have a vision and I intend to accomplish it. But I digress.
On another note, I am also a software engineer and I involve myself in some pretty big projects sometimes. I am just one person in someone’s project, or vision. There would be investors pouring money in the project. And there are times when things don’t go right. The algorithm doesn’t work out right. Somebody else dropped the ball and the whole project falls apart. Trying to apply for a bid, and in the end, the customer goes with another product. The customer is not sure to go with the product or not. There is a lot things that are beyond my control. I can just do my best and cross my fingers that down the line the project goes into fruition.
On another note, I used to be a germ-a-phobe about 20 years ago. I used to wash my hands all the time. I don’t do that now. Recently, I recent to my favorite Mexican restaurant with family. I could have washed my hands prior to eating but I didn’t. I could have used my hand sanitizer but I didn’t. I think I was sort of lazy. I handled the two dirtiest things in the restaurant – the menu and my cell phone which I brought. Regardless, I ate my food with my hands. Did I need guarantees that wasn’t going to get sick? Apparently not. And guess what? I didn’t get sick.
So billionaires can tolerate uncertainty and OCD suffers may not be able to. I guess knowing that there is uncertainty in the path of success might be helpful in convincing yourself (cognitive therapy) that you don’t really need guarantees all the time in order to get it right.