Plan, noun: a method of acting that is oftentimes unnecessary

The other day I received an email from my roommate telling me that I don’t plan anything. (Can you tell that this is a much longer story?) At first, I was angry and upset and pissed all at once. Of course I plan things, I thought. I’m simply a better adapter and that’s why some of my planning goes unnoticed. And frankly, I think it’s a great thing. Here is why adapting is better than planning.

1. Planning can lead to inaction. I’ve seen people plan all these things that they’re going to do and in the end they never do anything. Take my roommate for example. I’ve listened to how many businesses he’s going to start, how many trips he’s going to take. As he’s taken his time to plan out all these things, I’ve started 2 businesses and gone on three trips.

The fact is, he will never do them. If you spend all your time planning, you’ll never do anything. Sometimes it’s better to start out with a small plan, do it and then see what happens. Learn from your mistakes and get feedback and keep building on these things and improving.

2. Things rarely go as planned. It doesn’t matter how much you plan something, chances are they won’t go as you thought they would. As a wedding photographer, I’ve been to many wedding rehearsals and many weddings. I have yet to see a wedding go the same way as the rehearsal did.
My photography relies on the fact that I can adapt well. Sometimes the sun sets differently than the day before, sometimes a wedding is now inside instead of outside, sometimes a bridesmaid is missing, sometimes the complete order of events is different. If you can’t adapt, you’re screwed in this little thing called life.

3. Less planning can lead to better experiences. If you’re always worried about planning, you don’t get a chance to experience the things that you can’t plan. If you’re whole life is an itinerary, you’ll miss out on the things that the universe has set up just for you to experience. I was talking to a backpacker the other day and she was telling me that she couldn’t get a flight to Cuba so she ended up in Jamaica for a week instead with no plan and had a great time. When I travel, I plan as little as possible. That’s how I ended up in Brazil and had the time of my life.

4. You can’t control what other people do. The irony of the situation with my roommate is that I had actually made plans and he didn’t do what he was supposed to do. This is a perfect example of why planning doesn’t matter. I had made my plans, worked all around them and then he stiffed me. So, I was forced to adapt. Another example, the other day I was supposed to meet someone at 4 pm. He didn’t show up. Instead of being pissed off about it, I sat down, had a drink with a few people and had one of the best conversations of my life. I made new friends (one of which is going to help me find a much cheaper apartment for my next trip to Brazil. Major win.). I also became very motivated to write, something I haven’t been able to do in years.

Now, I’m not saying that plans should never be made. Having a wedding or starting a business without any kind of plan is pretty wild. However, plans don’t always have to be elaborate and you should leave room for improvisation. More importantly, plan to be happy and work everything else around that.

Live life and learn to adapt.

Related posts:

1. Sweat the Small Stuff: Cheer for the Sunset
2. What’s Your Word?
3. You Can’t Expect People to Act the Way that You Do