God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road.
Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen)
Human beings are queer beings. Their well-documented desire to know more about the future is as ridiculous as their fear of what is to come. This is obviously one of the many mysterious around human behavior and mindset.
Too much of something is as bad as too little of it. The same probably holds true for knowledge as well. Sometimes, the more we know of something that we are not supposed to discover (yet) can put us in a more perilous position than we were in thanks to our state of blissful ignorance. Given how uncertain the future is, it is mostly in our best interest to leave things beyond our control to God or destiny. That way, we do away with the need for unnecessary speculation. The same goes for the human tendency to indulge in pointless planning based on contingencies that may or may not materialize.
Thinking too much about the things to come invariably leads to disappointment and, by extension, pessimism. This stands in stark contrast with the optimism that often stems from hard work and a tendency to accept things as they come.
That is why, as humans, we ought to make the best we can of any situation in hand, without worrying too much about the future. A good way of looking at things is to consider that the reason why we cannot know certain things is because we are not supposed to know them – not at least for the time being. This not only ensures a focused approach to our present goals, but also takes our mind off futile assumptions. Like the celebrated Danish author Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke, also known as Isak Dinesen, once said: “God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road.”