When Things Don’t Go as Planned
If setting hard and fast goals for your life is a bit overwhelming, I just want to say, “I get it.” Life can throw major curveballs and your trajectory can change dramatically—sometimes it’s exciting, sometimes it’s heartbreaking—and sometimes it’s both.
If you’ve spent any time with us at Building Champions, you’ll know we believe that everyone should create a plan for their life. We use our Life Plan resource in our coaching programs, encourage our staff to create one and our CEO, Daniel Harkavy, even published a book about it. The Life Plan is a tool to keep you from drifting off course away from the life you’ve always wanted.
If I had created my Life Plan 20 years ago, it would have looked very different from what my life actually looks like today. I lost my first husband to cancer when I was 30. Life with him was Plan A. Following his passing, I still had tons of hopes and dreams for my life, but the specifics were different—my trajectory had shifted.
A few years back, I created my Life Plan while on the brink of another big life transition. I was planning my wedding, buying a home and preparing to become a first-time stepmother to a nine-year-old girl. While using the Building Champions’ Life Plan tool, I realized that although much changed in my life (and much was about to again change), my core values never changed. The overall vision I had while in my 20’s had been carried with me. And it emerged in each area I identified as important within my Life Plan.
If you’re in a season similar to the one I was in those years back, I encourage you to still cast a vision for the areas of your life that you know are important—and that can look different for everyone. If you are single without kids, but want to be married or want kids, then create an account in your Life Plan that recognizes that desire.
If you want to be as physically fit as you can be, then write it down—small steps are what it takes to get you there. Whether your financial situation is healthy or a mess, set a general direction for where you’d like it to be. If your faith is important to you, then add it to your Life Plan. You can remain flexible, allowing for inevitable curveballs, but continuing momentum with achievable action steps.
It is not about controlling your life. We can’t control our lives. But we can intentionally prioritize the things, people, and areas most important to us. The Life Plan is a tool to help you think about your life in its entirety and dream big about where you want to end up. It’s a living, breathing document that is meant to change just as you change.You have an opportunity to seize your reality and declare it can be better. As I said, my Plan A was no longer an option, but my Plan B is great. I believe the best is yet to come, and I hope you believe it for yourself, too.
