{"id":4432,"date":"2020-10-23T07:30:35","date_gmt":"2020-10-23T07:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/?p=4432"},"modified":"2021-09-19T15:27:37","modified_gmt":"2021-09-19T15:27:37","slug":"having-a-plan-in-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/having-a-plan-in-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Having a Plan in Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
I touched down in Rio De Janeiro. It was hot and humid and I was a sweaty mess. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lugging my massive backpack I found a taxi which careened dangerously through city traffic to a hostel I’d booked for two nights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
My vague intention was to travel through South America, seeing how far I could get. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was 24 and until then, having a plan in life had seemed antithetical to the carefree spirit of youth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of us are born known exactly what we want to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Childhood role play games do sometimes precede real life decisions to become a doctor or policeman. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In some ways, these individuals are considered the lucky few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The majority of us, however, flail around, stumbling drunkenly in the dark, in one direction and then another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This may happen well into adulthood until, after what may have been a hedonistic or versatile youth, we begin noticing the passage of time and wonder how to put our limited years to best use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this stage, life planning<\/a> becomes increasingly common, with longer-term career and family decisions taking precedence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while we may chase opportunities as a young upstart, after accruing data from our life experiments, the incentive to optimise for optionality diminishes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In other words, we slowly start to shift from exploration to consolidation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As we learn more about the world and our place within it, we become increasingly comfortable in our own skin, our personalities developing stronger foundations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While this is the normal format of morphing into a respectable human, there are certainly benefits to remaining flexible in our planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let’s take a look\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n For starters, it’s good to reflect on why we want to plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Predicting the future is a form of self-determination whose real function might be to assuage existential angst. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fear of the unknown can certainly cause us to exert what little control we might possess to create detailed, if illusory, plans for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a plan in life can also lead to overwhelming desire, and in turn, psychological attachment to our vision. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, this wanting can instil an intense work ethic and tremendous results, but also the corollary of failure and disappointment when our expectations aren’t met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, we ignore randomness in favour of our goals<\/a>, overlooking opportunities to explore paths previously unconsidered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While this undoubtedly yields significant progress in our chosen pursuit, it also makes us extremely rigid, ignoring the more playful aspects of life that only occur when we remain open to exploration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You see, there are potential limitations in having a fixed idea for the future, especially from a young age. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And according to Malcolm Gladwell, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was recently listening to a podcast by Adam Buxton<\/a> and Malcolm Gladwell<\/a>, where they discussed the difference between Picasso and C\u00e9zanne, who represent two contrasting approaches to their craft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While Picasso was a precocious and groundbreaking young artist who produced some of his best work in his early years, C\u00e9zanne was the opposite, a late bloomer who only found a signature style at the end of his career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gladwell says we often venerate the Picasso’s of the world because they embody a clear narrative and plan of action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, he contends that there’s also much to be said for the unknown experimental approach, which places less emphasis on what should be done and more on “mucking around for a while”, including the creativity it can cultivate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Undoubtedly these tinkerers, through their playful approach, can create groundbreaking connections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at some of history’s most famous polymaths – if they had taken the likely advice of their day and specialised in one field, many of the contributions we enjoy today in art, science and philosophy, wouldn’t exist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And for this reason, I don’t think there’s anything wrong in remaining open to possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly, Gladwell also asserts that the trend of life planning at a young age started when our life expectancy was relatively low. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we’re living longer, the expectation to chart our future at 18 years old is somewhat outdated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Personally, I regard these pre-mature years as a time for investigation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Certainly, my own life has changed drastically since that sweaty taxi ride in South America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, what are the pros of planning?<\/p>\n\n\n\nFlexibility<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Gladwell<\/h2>\n\n\n\n