This title may not be a familiar thought for many, but the concept probably is, and it is one that applies to many different things in life.  You can read the history overview of this thought block from French Philosopher Blaine Pascal here, but the quick version is this:

In the case of hedging your bet, live a life assuming that God is real and you will stand before him someday to be judged.  By doing so, you will lead a “better” life, and thus the outcome, regardless of you standing before God or not, will lend itself to you having a led a better life overall.

Now, while this is in my opinion, a great way to navigate your life in general, this theory can be applied to many facets of life.  For example, if you are going to sit around and dwell on the future, spend that energy in a positive manner.  NONE of us know what is going to happen in the future, whether it is tomorrow or next year, so your energy is truly being spent on something that is out of your control and impossible to predict.  Similar to Pascal’s Wager, if you are going to dwell on something and use it to shape your life, why not make it something that will give you the best outcome possible?

Too many of us spend a lot of time and brain power trying to control uncontrollable things or predict the future.  You have no clue what is going to happen in the next hour in many cases, so why spend your energy trying to do any of these things?  Has any amount of worrying ever changed the outcome of something?  Did not sleeping the night before an interview help or hurt your chances?  Did throwing up before the big game improve your performance?  The answer is likely a resounding NO in both cases.  Positive visualization does make a big difference; studies have proven this over the years.  And plenty of studies also indicate that the negative thought patterns will harm your efforts.  Choose wisely.

In sharing some personal experience in this arena, let’s use a familiar thing for me:  a sales presentation.  And I don’t mean a run-of-the-mill, average size client presentation.  I am talking one of the biggest deals you’ll have a shot at all year long.  What do you do when this situation arises:  Panic?  Pray?  Persevere?  Or do you do your best to prepare to the fullest extent and then let things play out as they may?  I have been in some of the nicest conference rooms of the largest companies in the US to pitch to a team of people who hold my fate (to some degree) in their hands.  It can be an intimidating environment to say the least.  Landing a “whale” client can change the course of the company’s future and therefore mine.  At minimum the current employees keep their jobs, and likely we add more to the staff.  I may get a raise or a bonus that would pay off some troublesome debt or allow me to take my wife on a vacation.  Maybe the owner of the company can leverage this new large account for a bank loan that makes the company’s operations easier to fund.  There is a ton of things on the line, but there is no correlation to worrying about the presentation and what the outcome will be.  I have spent sleepless night and I have slept like a baby before opportunities like this, and neither one makes a difference.  Might as well get a good night’s sleep.

What does make a difference is preparedness.  If you use that energy and that concern for the outcome to fuel the prep work you put into something this important, you are likely to see a better outcome.  This is the application of Pascal’s Wager in a different context than life guidance.  You need to embrace the nerves and the excitement of the situation and channel that into being ready to capitalize.  If you think what I said previously meant that it is all a crapshoot and it doesn’t matter if you take action or not, you are dead wrong.  There are no guarantees that you will be successful (know the outcome in advance) if you prepare very well ahead of the big day, but NOT taking this type of action will certainly help ensure that you will not be successful.

Take it from me, channel your efforts and your positive thoughts into an upcoming event, no matter how long the timeline is.  Don’t waste your efforts and your brain power persevering or details and outcomes that you do not have control over.  If you miss this deal, there will be others.  If this miss gets you fired, guess what, you will be in a new role soon.  There is only one thing that warrants that kind of thought, and that is the end of the road.  Depending on your belief system, you could be headed to be judged and rewarded, or you could be taking a dirt nap for all eternity.  Either way, you have already (hopefully) done the prep work to get a good outcome.  And if you didn’t you have no one else to blame and no amount of worrying will change that.  Accept your fate.

As always, I wish you luck in your endeavors.