We still live in a society where the norm is to have a ‘life plan’. It often starts with your career path. From a very young age, we’re asked, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ This is followed by the options presented at school, including GCSEs, AS/A Level and T-Level options or apprenticeship schemes. If you want to go to university, what is the best subject to take? And as you enter the workplace, there are even more decisions to make.
It’s very natural to have high expectations of what you want to achieve – to be successful, to do things perfectly (the first time), and generally, just to have your life figured out. However, this sort of self-induced pressure can become debilitating at worst. And exhausting at best. Whenever you feel the internal pressure mounting, and you feel like you “should” be at a particular place in your life, keep one thing in mind: Your decisions don’t need to be permanent. You’re allowed to learn, grow, and change your mind. That option is never taken away from you.
Life isn’t just one path or one plan. In the words of Rabbie Burns, “the best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. There may be hurdles in your way – from an unsuccessful interview for that dream job or the dream job turning out to be more of a nightmare! There may also come a time when you must break away from your current path to start a new one. And that’s OK.
Sometimes you need to let go of one path and truly live the life you desire. Life would be boring if your goals and dreams stayed the same. The key is to focus on what you love and what energises you. As well as trusting that the next step will reveal itself when it is right. When something is for you, it will bring clarity and alignment to your life, not chaos and confusion. If you focus on what feels right, you’ll find out just how capable you are and how far you can go.
It’s a lesson I learned when I left the established agency I co-founded to start another this year. Starting again was not part of the plan. But it did involve what I love. And it lets me focus my efforts on empowering clients and partners that matter to me. For example, making an effort to support women-owned brands and businesses, sustainable businesses and those that champion causes I care about.
I’m not saying changing a plan is easy. But maybe uncertainty is a synonym for possibility. And when you step forward and follow the path your heart is pulling you towards, infinite possibilities open up before you – endless opportunities to grow, transform, expand, receive, have, be and succeed.
So, don’t worry about the ‘plan’. This is just the beginning. You have so much to do and discover. It might feel like you should be further along by now but be patient with yourself. Good things take time, and there is no need to rush the journey that you are on. Take each day as it comes and trust the process. It’s an infamous quote, but it’s true: “You may not end up where you thought you were going, but you will always end up where you were meant to be.”
Featured image: Ashkan Forouzani / Unsplash
