Put The Plans Away by Amy

No one loves a plan more than me. I hate going to bed not knowing what I’ll be doing tomorrow. I dread to think how much time I’ve spent pondering what-ifs. And day-to-day, my need to plan and organise is working out just fine; it helps me to feel like I’m achieving something. But I’m (slowly) starting to realise that trying to plan too far into the future isn’t worthwhile. It’s reassuring to have a general idea of where you’re heading to make sure you’re pushing yourself and that you want the same things out of life as your partner. In my experience, however, the more detailed the plan for the future is, the more likely it is to be altered. If you’re anything like me, with a mind that thrives on to-do lists, here are some potential  words of wisdom to reassure you when a plan just won’t come together.

ONE

It’s okay to know you want to go somewhere but not know exactly where. This can apply to anything from planning future travels to your career. Maybe you haven’t even heard of the place you want to go yet. You’ve got time to figure it out, and if you make a decision now, you don’t have to stick to it.

TWO

Amazing things happen even if you don’t plan them.

THREE

It always works out in the end. When everything seems to be going wrong, you’ll probably get sick of hearing this, but it’s true. With hindsight, the plans that didn’t work out often ended up that way for a reason.

FOUR

There’s nothing wrong with changing your priorities. It’s so important to make sure that you and the people you love are happy, but what makes you happy might change over time.

FIVE

“You must give up the life you planned in order to have the life that is waiting for you” - Joseph Campbell. Don’t let your plans for the future stop you from enjoying the real thing.

The future is too huge and too far away for us to predict what is going to happen. We can plan for the short term, but the rest is full of potential and possibilities, and sometimes we simply can’t imagine how exciting those possibilities will turn out to be.

Amy is a teacher who is currently enjoying her time as a full time mum. Take a peek at her blog here. Find more posts by Amy here...

Illustration by Samantha Battersby. You can find more of her work over on Etsy and on her blog!