The Plan.
Categories: #besomebody, Beliefs, Career, Leadership, Love, Motivation, Principles, Relationships
An open door.
A forced turn.
Missing a flight, but making a connection.
Catching a break that breaks too soon.
I’ve learned that even the unforeseen, unwanted, and unpredicted are part of the plan.
Most of us go through life with a gallery of hopes, dreams and expectations. We paint pictures in our heads, and we wish, work, and wait for those portraits to become reality.
The type of job we have or the car we drive. Where we live and how we live. Our partners and relationships. They’re all part of the artwork that makes up our personal masterpiece.
There is a Picasso in all of us.
“There is a Picasso in all of us.”
But sometimes the brush moves on its own. The canvas shakes. The strokes talk back. And all of the sudden, the picture doesn’t look anything like we envisioned it.
Our perfect girl falls in love with someone else. We don’t get the job we always wanted. We fail where we knew we would succeed. Practice doesn’t make perfect…
And then comes one of the most important realizations of our lives: we can’t predict the journey ahead of time, but we can create it as it happens.
Learning to absorb life’s blows and appreciate life’s surprises is the only way we can get to where we want to go.
And more often than not, it’s the unexpected that’s the most enlightening…. The heartbreaks and hardships. The close-calls and near-misses… They all reveal our strength, reflect our courage, and recharge our humility. They remind us to thank God and remember each other…. Failure is our best teacher.
Sometimes falling off the plan is The Plan.
And when the painting starts to smear, I’ve learned to turn to three principles on my palette.
1. Live in the Moment.
2. Focus on what you can control.
3. Stay poised & positive.
These sound simple. They’re not. 
It’s a daily struggle to keep those principles in mind, and even harder to put them into action. But when we do, we shift our thoughts from what ‘should’ have been, and focus them on what is, and what can be…
We gain a stronger grip on the brush… and become more creative – and more powerful - than we ever imagined.
The Plan isn’t frozen. It’s ever-changing and always moving. It can transform into anything we want, as long as we evolve with it.
Like any work of art, it’s not about how perfect the picture looks in the beginning. It’s about how beautiful you make it along the way.
Kash $
Gee bro… one of your best entries to date… an inspiring hard hitter!!!
Thanks brother. Great to hear from you. How are things in D.F? Como estás? Have you found your new path? It’s just a matter of time… Hope to see you soon during my next visit.
Talk soon,
$
LOVE this post! You are so right… just like we were talking about the other day, no matter what happens in life – our PERSPECTIVE is what determines our happiness, regardless of external factors. I’ve met some amazingly positive and happy people who’ve had the worst imaginable circumstances… and on the other hand, I know people who are so successful, lucky and blessed – or at least everyone else would think so, except for themselves. People who, no matter how good life is, can never allow themselves to be happy because they don’t know how, or they feel guilty, or they feel like they fell short of their very high standards and expectations.
We all have disappointments in life, but the more we think about them, the worse we feel.
Yes, venting can feel therapeutic… but I remember learning in psych class that contrary to popular belief, “ruminating” can sometimes cause more harm than good… it keeps those cuts fresh in your mind, making you re-live the pain over again instead of letting them heal and move on. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t allow ourselves to vent… but make sure the person you vent to is a positive person. Someone who’s understanding, but also encouraging, supportive and wise. Venting to someone who completely agrees with how terrible things are for you will only get you more worked up and feeling worse.
Anyways, sorry to rant… but I’ve been thinking about this subject as well for the last few days.
I love reading your posts, keep it coming!
Kash, I like your allegorical representation of Life as a Painting. If you can master the nuances, hues, sweeps and strokes in life, you are bound for success. You always hit a wall when writing a book, or making a painting , or creating music. But like you said, you can break through that wall if you’re positive, persistent and focussed.
“Like old Danny Kaye said, Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can”. You are the brush, Kash, go for it!
I love this… so so true… all we are promised in this life is this very moment and our ability to make choices in it. With that reality, how can you not be grateful and positive and making the best of every experience that comes your way…? There’s a great quote from the Dalai Lama that’s very fitting with this topic: “Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.” Miss you Kashy!!
Thanks so much Chris… completely agree… and you are a living example/role model of this mindset… of that Energy… really happy and proud of you for following your heart and chasing a dream… So cool…
Thanks as always for your support, and hope to SEE YOU SOOOOON! $
“Failure is our best teacher. Sometimes falling off the plan is The Plan.”
When the Plan was ‘working,’ I was a Kaplan DAT instructor, won nationally competitive scholarships, my grades in dental school were scoring me at the top of my class and specialization was promising. I had such a strong vision of myself of volunteering with the Operation Smile team and performing life-saving cleft palate surgeries around the world.
I was going to be somebody.
And then I fell off the Plan. And then I beat myself up about falling off the Plan, for a long time.
Today is the first day that I realized that falling off that plan was the best thing that could have happened to me. I went from a naive girl, with an empty life, filled with dreams of curing cancer — to a balanced woman, that has learned to live, love herself, love more and give even better.
I am becoming the woman I always wanted to be, and the painting is becoming more beautiful than I had ever dreamed.
The path that I thought that would get me there, and the hues and strokes that my painting needed, were just different from what I had expected. God, the universe, destiny, fate — all knew better than me.
Before this, I had written myself off as a failure. But this post challenged me and won. And this blog, that I stumbled across one lazy Saturday afternoon, has helped me restore my faith that I can still be somebody.
My heartfelt thank you to all founders & contributors.
Kulsum,
– Kash
Thanks so much for your comments and for sharing your story. YOU are an inspiration. It’s so amazing to see, hear, and feel people as they take control of their life and love the person they’ve become. Congratulations and best of luck to you on your journey. And thanks for reading.