The quest to learn how to predict lottery numbers continues....and with some early encouragement! Week one of the new “system” sees me £49.60 the richer thanks to the Euro lottery. Week two, and again huge excitement when that tantalising e mail from lottery HQ arrives indicating “Great news!” I prolong the anticipation until Sunday before discovering that the great news is... £4.60!!
But that's £4.60 more than I make from a possible dormant pension enquiry sent to an early years employer, LB of Harrow. Back in 1971 as well as saying goodbye to shillings and pence, I bade farewell to a hugely promising career in local government, and with all the euphoria of my final days I just couldn’t recall what we had done with my accrued pension contributions.
Not a lot! I was given a full cash refund of £563 when I left.
You have to hand it to local government administrators. Their archiving and filing skills are without equal. I was sent photocopied immaculately handwritten records. (We all used fountain pens in those days.) Complete with long-hand calculations showing how they converted pre-decimal contributions into new currency….after two attempts!! And rubber stamped (we all used those too!) REFUNDED IN FULL.
Now I have to admit I did briefly think “What if I hadn't left local government?” “I’d have retired 4 years ago on a final-salary-inflation-proofed pension!”
But I did leave! And over time I've learnt that asking myself “what if,” when reflecting back on past decisions I made, or looking forward on future events that I can’t influence (like winning the lottery,) is at best an entertaining but otherwise unproductive preoccupation.
Add in those other "what if''s" You know, the self-limiting ones that we ask when facing something new or different: "What if I can't do it?" "What if I look daft trying?" ...and you begin to realise what a thought-wasting phrase it is!!
So. What if we stopped asking what if? Maybe we'd just might get on and do a lot more!
But that's £4.60 more than I make from a possible dormant pension enquiry sent to an early years employer, LB of Harrow. Back in 1971 as well as saying goodbye to shillings and pence, I bade farewell to a hugely promising career in local government, and with all the euphoria of my final days I just couldn’t recall what we had done with my accrued pension contributions.
Not a lot! I was given a full cash refund of £563 when I left.
You have to hand it to local government administrators. Their archiving and filing skills are without equal. I was sent photocopied immaculately handwritten records. (We all used fountain pens in those days.) Complete with long-hand calculations showing how they converted pre-decimal contributions into new currency….after two attempts!! And rubber stamped (we all used those too!) REFUNDED IN FULL.
Now I have to admit I did briefly think “What if I hadn't left local government?” “I’d have retired 4 years ago on a final-salary-inflation-proofed pension!”
But I did leave! And over time I've learnt that asking myself “what if,” when reflecting back on past decisions I made, or looking forward on future events that I can’t influence (like winning the lottery,) is at best an entertaining but otherwise unproductive preoccupation.
Add in those other "what if''s" You know, the self-limiting ones that we ask when facing something new or different: "What if I can't do it?" "What if I look daft trying?" ...and you begin to realise what a thought-wasting phrase it is!!
So. What if we stopped asking what if? Maybe we'd just might get on and do a lot more!
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