Success is only achievable by great planning. You must have a plan in place before you move forward. Start planning what you are going to do with your life. Plan today what you want to achieve tomorrow.
Somewhere in our lives, we have been taught to have a plan. In some degree of variation, we have all heard the advice above. I want to challenge some of this traditional wisdom, if only for today. Let me play Devil’s Advocate if you will.
My life’s goals have always been to strive for excellence, never settle for mediocrity and always find a way to improve someone else’s life every day. I still live by those goals, but have a new outlook on some other ways I live. I was always the planner. I would plan a certain amount of time for studying. I would plan my vacations down to the minute. I would have spreadsheets, notes and backups so I would never get off track. Well, something happened at some point that made me throw all of those things aside.
Maybe I realized that the best moments in life just happen. Maybe I realized that spontaneity is more exciting. Maybe I realized I just want to live my life to the fullest, instead from a checklist. Most importantly, maybe it is because I see so many of my friends missing out on living because they are too busy planning to live.
So many people create a vision of what they want to achieve or accomplish in life. They start planning what to do first. Then they put a backup plan in place. Then they plan the next stage of their goal. It keeps going and going. What they haven’t realized is that all of the planning being done is actually keeping them from living. Before they realize how much time has passed from planning, life has also passed. Time has passed that they can never get back.
I have learned that we only have so many moments, so much time and only given one life to make what we can of it. We create beauty in song, poetry, art, family, etc., yet we hide it from the world until it is perfect. We keep others from seeing our beauty because we have a plan. We want perfection before we allow anyone to share in this beauty. The problem is beauty is rarely perfect. It is the imperfections that really create beauty. It shows our connection with humanity.
So why do we continue to plan instead of live? We have become this way from years of experience and practice. Practicing patience, self control, and delayed gratification. One day we will be ready to share our beauty with others only to find they have moved on from us. Waiting for that perfect moment just to find those moments were there all along, and we just ignored them. We have to start living again, and not just existing.
I just want my life to mean something. When I am gone, I would rather someone say they are glad they experienced something with me; rather than saying we had planned on doing that. Planning is a must for certain aspects of life. Living is a must for all aspects of life.
Don’t be afraid to share your beauty with others. Don’t be afraid to live because it’s not perfect. If you actually perfect all you are doing, who will still be around to share it with? Will you still be around to enjoy it? Life is here and now. Don’t lock yourself away planning on living, get out there and live.
Find your passion. Find your purpose. Make a difference in someone’s life. Find a reason to smile every morning before you get out of bed. Stop and look at the beauty of nature once in a while. Share your beauty with others. Stop being afraid to live. Change does not occur until the current situation becomes too uncomfortable to remain the same. Get out of your comfort zone and try something new.
IF YOU DO WHAT YOU HAVE ALWAYS DONE, YOU WILL GET WHAT YOU HAVE ALWAYS GOTTEN!
Sure, life is scary. Sure, life is hard. Sure, life is not fair. BUT I PROMISE, IT IS WORTH IT!!! We don’t always have things go our way. Disappointments are a part of life. I believe my friend, Jessica Meuse sings it perfectly!!
“Thank God It Didn’t Work”
Change Doesn't Occur Until the Current Situation Becomes too Uncomfortable to Remain the Same 