I've been a planner ever since I can remember. I knew what college I wanted to go to when I was in the third grade, and despite some different ideas looming every now and then, I ended up going with my original plan. I planned a few different academic paths around this time too, and stuck with one of them. I planned the perfect this, the perfect that, and for the most part all have become a reality. Up until this point in my life, I felt like I needed a plan for my sanity. After getting a temporary, yet huge, wrench thrown into said plan last year, I'm happy to let go.
To the planners: I know just the thought of this brings immense anxiety, but we really can't say what will happen tomorrow. If we can't even really say what will happen tomorrow, forget about what will even happen in a week or a month from now. Not to say planning is bad. Of course, it isn't. To some extent, everyone has ideas of what they would like to do in a few months or a few years, whether they are a planner or not. I think the problem with plans can be the standards they hold us to. I see it a lot in college when people are majoring in something for practicality or financial reasons. They are using it as a means to get from point A to point B.
I challenge you to use your plan as a means of visualization, an inspiration for the future, while living in the present. You don't know what is going to happen, so why spend your time on something that doesn't necessarily fulfill you in the moment? For the first time in my life, I really don't have a plan, and I'm the happiest I've ever been. Every decision I make is to grant me an opportunity or a new experience, but I'm not hung up in making Choice 1 to get to Choice 2 and eventually follow this until I reach "The End Goal."
This is why it is so important to try new things. I'm lucky to go to a liberal arts school where this is encouraged, but it's important to implement it in other aspects of life. I've always hated yoga, but I wandered into a new studio with my sister recently, and now I can't imagine a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I took an environmental studies course my freshman year, and I am still so grateful for the passion and interest it sparked in me.
What is there to lose in this? Well, if you have a steadfast plan, you could ruin "The Plan." So let go of "The Plan." Maybe use it as a source of inspiration, but let go and appreciate the journey from Point A to wherever you may end up.
