Someone close to the family is a professional footballer, and while they take in a decent yearly salary considering their age, they don't have much control over their life, nor where they live. In some way, it is like being a soldier of fortune, shipped off to the next war, under the banner of a new army, new leadership, and new culture. The mid-season trade window closes tonight, and after a stellar game in an important match yesterday, they have no idea where they are going to end up, or if they are going to stay where they are. It creates a fair amount of stress for their partner too, but this is the life.
It is not all glamour.
I actually think that while many people love the idea of being a professional sportsperson, not many would be suited to the lifestyle of it. The constant travel a few times a week for matches, or internationally for some sports like tennis. The living out of suitcases, being away from family and friends. Having to rebuild from scratch potentially a couple times a year. And of course, all of the training and public pressure from the job itself.
It takes more than the practical skills.
Yet, while the player's family stresses at these times, he is calm. And for a young person, it is pretty interesting to see, because the ones I know around the same age, panic about everything. This probably speaks to the difference in experience, as this person has lived most of their lives in the football world, surrounded by people who are also in that world. They are used to the constant travel and the uncertainty of where they will play, because they have done it for years.
The human species is very adaptable, and this is often seen as a strength, where we are able to acclimate to conditions quickly. However, when conditions are good, that is what we get used to quickly, and the longer they are stable, through repetition our behaviours become habits, and we can become soft. Inevitably, stable times turn volatile, and the pain of change becomes extreme, too much for some to bear, very painful for those who are able to survive. The ones who are accustomed o the volatility though, well, they can ride the wave and benefit from the uncertainty of others.
The uncertainty of others.
The entire world is volatile at the moment, as the centralised powers play their games that impact directly on us, the ones who choose to let them play for us. Trade wars have nothing to do with the average person, but they will heavily affect the quality of life of the average person, and on average it isn't a positive effect. The general wellbeing of humanity goes down, because some people want to carve out of our bones, just a bit more money for themselves.
Rather than complaining about the state of the world, we should acclimatise to the volatility and work out how we can take advantage of it for ourselves, the ones we care about, and our local community. I suspect that when people start to take this approach, they will soon learn enough about the current economy, and naturally gravitate towards crypto, and decentralised structures of governance and operation. Even a short peek behind the curtains of power, will highlight both how corrupt it is, and how fragile the structure, and precarious the position.
Maybe this is the "trade window" for us to take advantage of, and perhaps use what we learn to start to steer away from the catastrophe that is bound to happen in the legacy economic system, due to gross mismanagement. Who knows, it could be a catalyst for change, one where new teams are formed that are able to negotiate the playing field, without being a constant drain on humanity.
For now though, it is going to be volatile for a while.
So, get used to it.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
