How many times did you allow spontaneity to take place in your ordinary days? For me, quite rarely but those instances have created the best days of my life!
I’m very good at planning – that is, if I want to. I can run an event, activity, devise strategies to approach an issue, a problem. I have a keen eye on looking at the larger picture, I know how to delegate, assess progress, mark milestones, and carry everything out to till it’s done. That’s not really the case though in my personal life. I don’t have a detailed plan mapped out in front of me. I keep a broad version of it. My focus? Goals.
I met with a few friends last night- all gifted writers (soon you’ll see them here), and we brushed on this topic. Most of us at one time had our future perfectly laid out- age to marry, year to have kids, the amount of wealth we’re gonna have, employed in a company of our choice, be in a profession we’ve dreamed of since we were kids, and more.
As you would have guessed- well, we got some, we missed some. As kids, nobody told us that the world can be cruel sometimes, that people can be unkind, challenges can come, weather can change, and we too can fail. Indeed nobody’s been perfectly prepared for this university we call Life. All those who graduated with flying colors must have been bruised and broken but certainly, they kept fighting the good fight.
My friends and I have our share of frustrations- plans failed, jobs sucked, people left, we left- we had high expectations from the external world and from ourselves. The first time we encountered failure- we hated it. But now, we take it differently. Failure is a great teacher. It took time for us to accept and understand this. Yes, we should allow ourselves to fail- and by that, I mean- to fail forward.
Mistakes can be a waste until you turn them into lessons. Setbacks are meant to propel us farther and higher. So when you feel like being pulled back, by all means, bend, but don’t break.
Success too at one point will lose it’s shine until you refuse to settle and make one more step. You can’t be in your 50s or 70s and relive your glory days when you were half those age- or you can, it’s still your choice. But at every age, you have an opportunity to do something great. The chances never really run out. So don’t sit on your laurels – at least- not just yet.
So how did most of us cope with failure and frustration? We scrapped the detailed plans and focused on our goals. We allowed life’s surprises to hit us. It doesn’t matter if it’s bad or good. we take it and turn it to work in our favor.
Eventually, each one of us will discover his or her own path. We’ll discover our own voice, our own destiny. you’ll realize in the end it really doesn’t matter what the world say. What would mean most is that we loved much, we cared much and we gave much. And one day should our hearts find yours, I guess that just means, we’re treading the same path.
sundaewrites