An (Un)certain Plan: A Dive into the Unknown
“If the rhythm of the drum beat changes, the dance step must adapt” — African Proverb
My father planned to work in Australia; he went to East Africa.
My mother planned to become a fashion designer; she became a nurse.
I planned to become a lawyer; I’m on my way to becoming a diplomat.
I planned to focus on Swahili; I learned Chinese.
I planned to move to London; I moved to Shanghai.
I planned to stay single; I got a girlfriend.
I planned to get a six-pack; I got a… I just didn’t get.
Plans, plans… plans. We plan for certainty and yet it soon becomes certain that our once-certain plans were, certainly, uncertain. Plans, therefore: a rare amalgamation of both certainty and uncertainty.
Whether it’s after confronting the unforgiving question that occupies much of graduation-day conversations — “so, what are your plans now?” — or whether it’s your elders not-so-jokingly reminding you of their youthful marriage at age 21, it follows that many of us then face a series of bittersweet internal interrogations:
“Where do I go from here? What’s next? What if choosing X will disappoint Y? What if going for opportunity A means losing opportunity B?”
With the many not-so-covert societal pressures that urge us to make such life decisions upon leaving secondary school, I vividly recall my own experiences hurriedly consulting my friends and family for navigations on what to do next. Many of my childhood friends will have flashbacks to my daily dilemmas:
“Should I go for Skittles as they last longer or Twix as it tastes nicer as I attempt to endure this two-hour seminar on the Russian Revolution of 1917?”
Having moved on from my sweet-tooth battles of the day, I have since been inspired by a simple, four-part tenet that has smoothened the process of making decisions that hold the potential to influence my future:
1. Always make a plan
2. Appreciate that the plan may change
3. Adapt to those changes
4. Repeat
Indeed, just as the ancient Chinese idiom reads: 看风使舵 — we must steer the ship as the wind dictates. Unable to forecast what awaits us in the future, we are susceptible to experiencing unexpected and sudden changes that alter plans that we may have been working towards for days, weeks, months or years.
In such circumstances, there are some that take solace in their belief system of choice; others that willingly surf the waves in agreement with the intentions of the seas; and then there are those that swim against the tide.
Irrespective of how one opts to respond to unexpected alterations to life plans, inherent in each opportunity is an inception of further opportunities. One opportunity will lead to another and another and another.
As we progress on with our journeys into the unknown, we should remain committed to seeing our plans through whilst being prepared to adapt to any changes that lay ahead.
Our plans may, indeed, be just the first layer of a far greater and exciting plan that life has in store for us.
