One notion that seems to be a universal truth is “what’s meant to be is meant to be.” In other words, your future and fate belong to a higher power with no control from you. I personally believe in a higher power, and that’s why on some level I believe we actually do have a say about what happens in our life. I believe we get out of life not what we deserve but what we plan for. The plans over our lifetime determine the direction over our life, and it’s the reason why we are where we are. I would like to support this idea by breaking down a few reasons why planning is essential from a purpose standpoint.

“I just got here”
How many of us are guilty of saying “I just got here” or “it just happened?” I’m definitely in that guilty party. It may sound like the humble, down-to-earth thing to say when asked about our life but it isn’t the correct answer. Our life choices are a result of the plans we made or, sadly, didn’t make. One of the reasons I feel like our life can seem unfulfilling is because we have no clear vision for our life. In our mind, we have great expectations, but we never take the time to plan. And after some time of just going through life, we end up with the conclusion of “I just got here.” Nobody just gets anywhere. We either plan for a destination or life decides for us.

Plans help us reach goals on our terms
As beneficial as plans are, you can still reach your goals without a plan. It’s true. But what’s also true is that you might not reach them on your terms or in an ideal way. I want to use myself for this example. I left my job a year ago to pursue becoming an author and full-time writer. Deep down I knew I had outgrown my current job position, but I wasn’t sure when the right time was to make my departure. After getting tired of going back and forth in my head, I finally took fate into my own hands and put my two weeks’ notice in. After I left, it felt good and long overdue, but what I failed to do was to create a plan for my life after leaving my job. One of the biggest things I failed to do was plan the financial area of my life. Just because I stopped working didn’t mean my bills would stop coming. Even though I foolishly admit I believed they would. This would leave me without any consistent revenue streams for a while. I had a rough couple of months, to say the least. I thought being passionate about becoming an author would be enough to get me through, but it wasn’t. I didn’t have a plan to help navigate this part of my life. Eventually months later I found a few small writing gigs and started working at writing workshops on the side, so my dream did become a reality. And I’m very thankful. But at times I wonder how much sooner, how much better, how much further I could have gone if I had a plan.

Plans remind you
Now it’s time to turn the tables and focus on you. Let’s look at your job or career; why do you work there? What led you there? What was your plan and goal for seeking employment in this particular field? After a while, we forget those things and fall into a drift, which results in us living an unintentional life. It’s very common. Part of the reason for this could be because we never really planned our career. Or if we did, we might have forgotten the reason why. Plans serve as a reminder of why we do things. And sometimes we get that reminder through a plan we create that leads to a rewarding career or a pink slip that forces us to deal with the consequences.

The truth is we never just get anywhere in life. We plan it. A plan is simply a direction, a route that leads to our destination and our dreams. Do yourself a favor and plan to dream.

FROM THE EDITOR
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