What Do You Do When Things Don’t Go According to Plan?
Do you succumb to the chaos or do you adapt?
Life is chaos
It is changing with every passing moment and uncertainty lives around every corner. As much as you may try to escape this chaos, it will surprise you when you least expect it. And like you, we all try to find a little structure in our days to have some control over this chaos. We adopt habits and rituals that bring a little order to our once unfamiliar and chaotic days.
But the truth is, none of us can escape the chaos of life
Think about it — your daily habits, like brushing your teeth, exercising or speaking to your loved ones, what if someone took this all away? What would you do if you could no longer do the very things that make you who you are and bring value to your life? These are scary thoughts, aren’t they?
But they are only necessary to consider because you need to be prepared for the inevitable chaos roaming around everyday life — you need to be prepared to face life’s uncertainty.
You need to accept that sometimes things aren’t going to go as planned
There are so many things living outside your control that are going to make it difficult to stay committed to your habits. But even though, you cannot throw yourself into despair every time this happens. Your habits and rituals need your commitment when life is good and when it isn’t.
You need to accept chaos and the uncertainty attached to it, for this will only prepare you to endure Chaos and still remain committed to your habits. Sure, it will be surprising at times, but you will learn how to composure yourself and keep moving forward.
Because this acceptance prepares you to be someone powerful
This acceptance teaches you how to adapt, to question the very obstacles that make themselves present and seem to slow you down, and see how you can face them well and still remain committed to the habits that bring value to your life.
To accept chaos prepares you to manage your emotions when they are stirred and still push forward — you learn how to make progress when life feels good and when it feels terrible, you learn how to win against life’s uncertainty.
“You can’t change what’s going on around you until you start changing what’s going on within you.” — Zig Ziglar
Here’s how you can learn to better face life’s uncertainty,
Accept Chaos As A Part Of Your Days
I feel that we all seek a bit of structure in our days to have some control over them. We may plan ahead or find ourselves in the midst of habits and rituals that guide our efforts from the moment we wake each day. We each do the best we can with what we have to make some valuable progress.
But it will do you good to understand that this structure is subjective. Like everyone, you have tailored it to your own needs and your own life.
However, the harsh truth is that none of us can escape Chaos
It is uncertain. It will surprise you and force you to give it your attention. It will distract you from your goals, and being a human being, you may succumb to it and expand it to be more than it actually is.
But it doesn’t have to be this way
You can be better if you accept this chaos, this uncertainty as a part of your days. For once you find uncertainty acceptable, “it turns into increased aliveness, alertness and creativity” — as Eckhart Tolle well said.
Learn How To Adapt
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”
There is great value in Mike Tyson’s wise words. I mean, think about it in terms of your own life. There are some days that go according to plan, making your habits and rituals seem perfect. But there are many other days that are not so perfect.
In fact, there are days that make you doubt your well-thought-out schedule
But, what do you do when you’re asked to put in some extra work? What do you do when you’re asked to take care of someone in need? How do you face the many different forms of resistance throughout your days?
If you are not careful, the resistance may tame you. It will feed on those subtle excuses you hold within and transform them into the very reasons that convince you to stop pursuing your goal.
But you were never meant to be tamed by life, you were only meant to be humbled by it
Life will hold you back at times, but that should never be a reason why you hold yourself back from achieving your goals. It is up to you to decide whether you will be tamed or be humbled.
But I urge you to go back to your composure and question the things holding you back — ask yourself what you can do to face this resistance well and still make some progress on this day. In doing so, you will figure out how to overcome life’s chaos, and more than this, you will learn how to adapt.
And very importantly,
Hold On To Your Hope
This process of moving towards your goals is a stirring one — it will play with your emotions and test your will.
But don’t take it personally — the only reason why you will feel so deeply is because this path is meaningful to you
You know the value these habits and rituals bring to your life and you know how this commitment makes you feel about yourself. Not many people will understand this as well as you do and it is very much okay to want something so badly that you feel it deeply when things don’t go your way.
But you have to protect this goal
Don’t lead yourself into despair. Accept how terrible the resistance feels and still be willing to make progress. Wake up the next day and still be committed to your goals. Don’t let the things that live outside your control stop you from becoming the best version of yourself.
Be ready to fight every day — because as JM Storm once said, the universe always falls in love with a stubborn heart.
I know that you have an idea of what you can do with your life to make it successful. You know the little steps you need to take each day towards your success — whether it be with your work, your relationships or your health. And you commit yourself to them because you know the long-term value behind each of these steps.
But sometimes, life will test you and make these commitments seem impossible
For as much as life is straightforward and peaceful, it is also confusing and chaotic. But I don’t want you to give in to this chaos and abandon your hope for improvement because this chaos will only ever win when it has convinced you to give up on yourself.
So hold on to your strength. Adapt to life and its circumstances. And do all that you can to keep moving forward because life will slow you down, yes, but the only person who can stop you from becoming the best version of yourself is you.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Invest In Your Existence, Kind Reader.
