The Underrated Essence of Spontaneity in Life
The Captivity of Certainty
Is your Day going as per your plan? Or is it a mess right from the start, like mine? If that’s so, then don’t worry, we are in this together. Whenever we find ourselves failing to go as we planned, we feel guilty. It’s not the first time we failed to keep our words and it’s certainly not the first time we are pulling ourselves from displaying our full potential, doing these two things is very much a habit now. In some ways, we are fed up with this daily feedback that makes us feel more guilty.
But Feedback indeed is important. So where does the problem lies? Let’s go back to the point where we failed. We Failed to go as planned.
We are so rigid in the belief that the Plan has to be absolutely right that we are willing to blame every other thing in the way. That’s because the plan you made is the ideal one. And when brought into the light of the practical world for application, it is meant to be failed. So instead of blaming yourself and everything external, why not, for once, think What if I planned Wrong?
I’d like to take the liberty to take this further.
What if I don’t need any plan at all (here)?
The Mind’s search for Certainty
In numerous articles, I talked about the confined space mind likes to keep itself in. The Characteristic of such space is, it has everything certain about it. That’s something the mind attracts. It doesn’t want to remain worried about the outcomes that have numerous possibilities. In some sense, maybe deep down The Mind actually hates the Idea of Overthinking. Because it’s the overthinking that serves itself with ‘infinite possibilities.’
Experiment with yourself and you will find the same. For something as small as watching the next series, we want to avoid the perpetual thought process that goes into the search of everything and ending up spending all the time there. That’s why Youtube Channels and Blogs have the catchy title “Top 10/5/3 movies/Tv Shows…”
See, even Google AI knows this and as soon as you type Top on the search box, you will be served with a relevant search that is trending in your region. It goes without saying that if we look for Certainty in our Dinner time Entertainment, we will, as part of this habit, invest more time in looking for more important things, that are close to us, and the decisions that affect us to a greater extent.
Restricting Ourselves to the Minimum numbers/At least
Now we know that brain is more stable if it is surrounded by predictable things. One outcome of this is that we always look for numbers. We all are aware enough to know that not one thing is going to solve everything. So we look for the next best option to maintain that stability which is What’s the minimum number I want? What’s the number that will serve the purpose?
Again have some consciousness this time and you will find yourself looking for them at least. Whether it is daily home supplies or your next assignment as an employee, you seek the number, the minimum number that is quintessential. All this to satisfy the thirst of our brain.
The Captivity of Certainty
What if I gave you the keys to my car and order you to drive on a certain route but at the same time, give you the freedom that you can go as much distance as you want as long as you are enclosed in the circuit decide? Is this Freedom?
The Definition of Freedom although relative when talked about in the greater sense but fundamentally is to make you free, free to choose. When our decisions are confided to pass through a certain tunnel only (The Mind Certainty Filter), it’s not exactly free. The fact that I ordered you (here, you are ordering yourself ) to drive a certain route is itself the reflection that it’s an impedance to freedom.
Just like a mind free to imagine millions of interpretations, and in the process set its own limits, the Art of planning leads to the creation of these numerous “Walls of Restriction”. For some most of these walls are invisible since the mind does a pretty good job in passing things through its lens and letting ourselves believe that it’s we who are driving the wagon. It will never tell you that it is the ‘Route Planner.’ Or shall I say, Decider?
The Boredom we should avoid
Cal Newport in his book ‘Deep Work’ gave great importance to ‘The Value of Boredom.’ Because for doing something for long and consistent, you have to befriend the boredom that comes along with it, you have to embrace it. But here is an interesting observation:
Planning Everything makes things predictable. If things are as you want them to, you yourself know the outcomes. On one side, it’s a good feeling since everything is in your control, but on another note, it’s very boring. The fun that comes with unpredictability, when the external factors dominate and affects you, that Spontaneity is something which is not just challenging but also extremely important. Because it’s where you learn how to Improvise.
Therefore, one shouldn’t just keep the head down, stick to the same planned routine and Embrace the boredom. There is a thin line of Separation between the Boredom you should embrace and the one you should avoid.
The Art of Improvisation
Improvisation is Underrated. In a world where you can anticipate every outcome of your action and still expand your control over external things to improve that certainty factor, Improvisation sounds like the last practice you will want to prepare for. And the more you work on gaining that certainty of prediction, the more you are underprepared if things go south.
You only control a little. To take this further, your life is never actually in your 100% control. That’s because any circumstance is a result of the accumulation of all the internal factors, something you can control, and the external factor, something you can’t regardless of how powerful you think you are.
Now since there will always be some aspect you can’t control, explains why you only control little. And it’s okay to have it this way. Because that is the only way you will let the entropy of life help you evolve.
The Ideal System for change
Since not everything is planned now, you never confine yourself to certain things. You accept that anything can happen. You realize that you can only control what’s in your power. This is a more organic environment to change or to embrace the things that force you to change. Having everything aligned sometimes compels you to think the same way over and over again and the possibility to change vanishes in the clouds of Perfectionism.
Find the Middle Ground
No matter how prepared you are to face life, the real test lies in when life throws something you didn’t expect and force you to either change the outcome according to you or let the situation take you where it can.
See, I am not advising here to throw away your table calendar, uninstall all the productivity apps that you installed after watching some Self-help Youtuber’s tips. Nor I am telling you to stop hustling and live life like a careless person.
The message is not to have an unscheduled lifestyle but to have the right amount of it. The message is not just to stop letting other factors drive the wheel of your life but also to choose what can drive your wheel and what can not. The Message is to Find the balance, between what should be planned and what should be kept unplanned deliberately. Because it is better to have the right blend of both.
Learn to let go, of the things that make you captives. Let go of anything that isn’t and will never be in your control. Learn to accept the suddenness with open arms. Learn to Embrace whatever life is giving. Because…
Everything is a blessing.
