I've always been a planner. My parents needed to know who, when, where, why, how, and every possible detail if I was going somewhere growing up. It's forced me to incorporate their interrogation with nearly everything I do now.
I used to have really bad anxiety over it-- I was constantly stressed out trying to keep everything according to plan. I've tried turning this control freak attitude into something more flexible, something more open to any and all situations rather than the one I might have in mind.
For some reason, the words "ambitious" and "go with the flow" were on opposite sides of the spectrum for me throughout high school. There was always this incredible push to know your stuff instead of just going with it.
Habits are really, really, really hard to break. I'm still working on it, but since then I've made strides to find a happy medium between being open to change and as driven as I can possibly be-- whatever direction that takes me in.
The first time I head about the Passion Planner was probably in 2014. I saw it on Instagram and fell in love. I could nail my schedule into hourly increments, completely map out weeks and months ahead, and it left space for creativity despite the endless organizational possibilities. However, I couldn't justify a $30 planner when I got a free one at school.
Going into my first year of college in 2015, I applied to get a Passion Planner for *gasp* free. It's part of their "pay it forward" program-- eventually, I'll be able to fund a passion planner for another #brokecollegestudent when I find the means someday.
My Passion Planner introduced me to the power of goal setting. Yearly, monthly, weekly, even daily goals for me to reach. My planner kept me accountable both to my obligations but also helped me realize in my monthly reflections that my goals don't necessarily work out in the end. In fact, I hardly reach my goals completely (RIP August 2016 Mile-A-Day challenge).
Here's something I would never thought I'd say: even though I didn't reach my goals, I made some progress towards them, and that is enough. I am doing and working enough.
My passion planner helps me track my progress, it shows me how much I've accomplished just looking my schedule and it also shows me how far I've been-- even when I don't think I've made it even close.
Goal setting is a way for me to cope with my controlling attitude towards, well, everything. It allows me to get to the main purpose of planning, the end result, but gives me enough space to grow and get there when I can.
Start with a small goal. It can be as simple as complimenting someone or taking 5 minutes to meditate. It can be as big as running a mile everyday or reading a book every week. It can be whatever you want, but the most important thing is that you continue to work towards it. Progress is progress.
