Learning that “no plan” can also be a “good plan”
From a young age, I’ve always had a plan. I always knew what my next step was going to be. I was always prepared and never lived in the unknown. As I entered my time in University, I also had a plan: complete a 5-year program, receive my two degrees, and become a teacher. It seemed fairly linear — and comfortable. It wasn’t until the end of my undergraduate career that I started to question my path.
Was I truly doing what I wanted to do or was I becoming lost in the comfort of a plan?
I sat with these thoughts for about 4 years, exploring different avenues but never admitting to myself that maybe I was in need of a change — a redirection from the plan that I had set out.
The idea of steering off plan didn’t become a serious thought until May 2022, when I attended the Cansbridge Fellowship Conference in Squamish, British Columbia. After speaking with some of the most inspiring individuals I have ever met and hearing their stories, I was exposed to a world of endless opportunities. I quickly realized that I had been constraining myself all because of a plan that I thought I had to follow.
With this realization, I decided to set a challenge for myself.
Try to live three months without a plan. No itinerary. No Excel sheet. No day to day routine. And so, I did it. I booked a one-way ticket to Dublin and told myself that I was just going to “figure it out”.
And let me tell you — it was one of the best decisions of my life.
My one-way ticket led me to explore 8 different countries, 2 continents, make best friends, grow as an individual and create memories that I will cherish forever.
As I continued to travel, learn from people, and finally open my eyes to the opportunities that I was shielding myself from, I started to realize that I was no longer happy in my University program. I wasn’t excited anymore. I wasn’t being challenged, and most importantly, I wasn’t growing.
I toyed around with the idea of dropping out for a few months. Asking people for advice, hearing both sides, only to realize that there was no one who could make this decision for me except for myself.
After living in Asia for a month, I began to understand how big the world truly was. How much I still have left to discover, learn and grow as an individual. The decision to not go back to school became much clearer to me. Mid-August, I made the final call to not finish my education program and leave my time at Queen’s University with only one of my degrees.
I was scared — because for the first time in my life I didn’t have a plan.
No back-up plan. No option B. It was up to me to figure it out. I wasn’t comfortable anymore. I wasn’t locked into security. I was scared.
“When you consider doing something that you truly love and are invested in, you are going to feel an influx of fear and pain, mostly because it will involve being vulnerable. Bad feelings should not always be interpreted as deterrents. They are also indicators that you are doing something frightening and worthwhile. Not wanting to do something would make you feel indifferent about it. Fear = interest.” — Brianna Wiest
These past couple of months have taught me that there is more to life than following a plan. Success isn’t one size fits all and it is often not a result of a linear path. It’s okay to steer off path, if anything, I encourage you to take the alternative path whenever you can. It’s where you will grow, learn and develop the most. And remember — it’s meant to be uncomfortable, scary, and unsettling. But these are all signs that you are growing, learning and developing into the best version of yourself.
Now don’t get me wrong, planning is an important part of growing up. But I think that as a society, we become too caught up in our plans, which ends up blinding us from opportunities and our ability to achieve greatness. It’s hard to leave comfort and enter the unknown, but believe me when I tell you that letting go of the norms that have been constructed for us to reach “success” is one of the most freeing experiences.
One of my biggest wake up calls from this whole experience has been that life doesn’t wait for the perfect plan.
“You will not be ready when the love of your life comes along. You also probably won’t be ready when you see the listing for your dream job, or to buy a house or maybe have a kid or maybe quit that job and try to write the book you keep thinking about, get sick or lose a relative or die yourself. If you wait on the feeling of “readiness,” you’ll be waiting forever, and worse, you’ll miss the best of what’s in front of you.” — Brianna Wiest
Guess what happened when I stopped waiting for the perfect plan? I was forced to act in the moment. I had to find a remote job, sustain myself for a summer, find a home, develop a support system and learn how to live on the go without the comfort of a plan. This “anti-plan” taught me how to adapt to any given situation quickly and develop a sustainable lifestyle wherever I went.
Without completing this challenge that I had set out for myself before the summer, I would have never found the company that I am currently working for and discovered my passion for technology. I would have never formed the deep connections that I did, develop a new found confidence that came from living alone in various foreign countries and learn that I can truly do anything that I set my mind to.
I am currently writing this blog post from my new home in Bali, Indonesia where I will be spending the next couple of weeks working remotely and living with a best friend that I made throughout this entire adventure — extending my “no plan” challenge.
My biggest lesson learned has been to start doing. Try new things. Fail fast. Failure turns into lessons, stories, people met, memories made. Continue to push past your comfort zone. Grow. Be uncomfortable. If you’re looking for a sign this is your sign to book that flight, leave that job you hate, tell them you love them, and most importantly do what YOU truly want to do.
And remember — no plan can also be a good plan.
