NO. 10
Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
* * *
“Everything will be okay in the end, and if it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”
I spent a few minutes just now trying to figure out exactly where that quote came from—and quickly discovering it’s attributed to damn near a thousand people. Because the attribution is completely irrelevant to the idea I’m about to write about, I stopped my search.
Now, where I personally heard this quote first was on a weekly movie review podcast run by Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo.
It is one of my favorite quotes.
And it’s useful because I believe people who think this way—people who genuinely believe everything’s going to be alright, that the universe has a gentle guiding hand along with them at every step of the way—tend to do a lot better at most things in life.
Why?
Imagine you have two friends. Both of them are freelance writers. And they are both looking for new work.
Friend A cold emailed a startup founder, asking to write for their startup. The founder emailed back and said they’re interested, but they wanted your friend to work on a two-hour test project to to show what they could do. Your friend was offended by this—I’m not giving away free work!—and vehemently declined.
Friend B cold emailed a startup founder, asking to write for their startup. The founder emailed back and said they’re interested, but they wanted your friend to work on a two-hour test project to show what they could do. Your friend said yes, had a blast with the test project. While they didn’t ultimately get hired, the founder later referred your friend to someone else, who did hire them. That person then referred them to someone else, and someone else... And now Friend B has a healthy portfolio and client list.
This may feel like an out-of-place example. But it’s incredibly relevant. The primary difference between these two friends is that Friend A is focusing on the here and now. If there’s no immediate gain, they don’t want to do it. This says a lot about how they view the future: with uncertainty and some pessimism.
Friend B, though, is putting faith in the future—the idea that if they suffer just a little bit right now, it just might pay off. They’re viewing the future differently: with a certain degree of confidence and optimism.
“Everything will be okay in the end.”
The funny part is it’s not even true, really.
Everything is not going to be okay for everyone. Not every bit of suffering pays off. Not everything has a happy ending. And sometimes, taking a risk is just a mistake. But I don’t think it’s very useful to think that way—it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy if you do.
As an aside, this is likely one of the big reasons people are so attracted to religion: many religions create an all-powerful, all-knowing being which has a plan for them and wants the best for them. Saying “everything is in God’s hands” is, basically, the religious equivalent to the quote I’m writing about.
Religious or not, it’s a helpful thing to believe.
So, remember: everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it is not the end.
* * *
“Everything will be okay in the end, and if it’s not okay, it’s not the end.”
I spent a few minutes just now trying to figure out exactly where that quote came from—and quickly discovering it’s attributed to damn near a thousand people. Because the attribution is completely irrelevant to the idea I’m about to write about, I stopped my search.
Now, where I personally heard this quote first was on a weekly movie review podcast run by Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo.
It is one of my favorite quotes.
And it’s useful because I believe people who think this way—people who genuinely believe everything’s going to be alright, that the universe has a gentle guiding hand along with them at every step of the way—tend to do a lot better at most things in life.
Why?
Imagine you have two friends. Both of them are freelance writers. And they are both looking for new work.
Friend A cold emailed a startup founder, asking to write for their startup. The founder emailed back and said they’re interested, but they wanted your friend to work on a two-hour test project to to show what they could do. Your friend was offended by this—I’m not giving away free work!—and vehemently declined.
Friend B cold emailed a startup founder, asking to write for their startup. The founder emailed back and said they’re interested, but they wanted your friend to work on a two-hour test project to show what they could do. Your friend said yes, had a blast with the test project. While they didn’t ultimately get hired, the founder later referred your friend to someone else, who did hire them. That person then referred them to someone else, and someone else... And now Friend B has a healthy portfolio and client list.
This may feel like an out-of-place example. But it’s incredibly relevant. The primary difference between these two friends is that Friend A is focusing on the here and now. If there’s no immediate gain, they don’t want to do it. This says a lot about how they view the future: with uncertainty and some pessimism.
Friend B, though, is putting faith in the future—the idea that if they suffer just a little bit right now, it just might pay off. They’re viewing the future differently: with a certain degree of confidence and optimism.
“Everything will be okay in the end.”
The funny part is it’s not even true, really.
Everything is not going to be okay for everyone. Not every bit of suffering pays off. Not everything has a happy ending. And sometimes, taking a risk is just a mistake. But I don’t think it’s very useful to think that way—it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy if you do.
As an aside, this is likely one of the big reasons people are so attracted to religion: many religions create an all-powerful, all-knowing being which has a plan for them and wants the best for them. Saying “everything is in God’s hands” is, basically, the religious equivalent to the quote I’m writing about.
Religious or not, it’s a helpful thing to believe.
So, remember: everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it is not the end.