We make our plans, and our plans keep us focused and on track. But then life happens, and all our well-made plans go out the window. Time and again these moments remind us that we must simply learn to roll with the many twists and turns of life.
To be sure, some people are naturally free-spirited and generally have no problem going with the flow of whatever comes their way, while others tend to be more structured and it’s difficult for them to deviate from a plan. And most of us fall somewhere in between these two extremes.
But, in either case, life comes with many inconveniences and last-minute changes. And these are particularly frustrating when they take us away from what we want to do and require us to do things we don’t want to do.
We can let our frustrations get the best of us. Or we can learn to roll with life’s curve balls and make the most of the situations we didn’t plan for.
For instance, a moment to decompress after work might turn into a deep, heart-to-heart conversation with our wife. Or a weekend of rest might shift into a weekend of meeting the needs of our kids. Likewise, we might have to roll with it when a work project gets canceled, a friend reschedules, or simply bad weather ruins our outdoor plans.
Of course, rolling with it doesn’t eliminate the cost we still have to pay for changing our plans. And we do well to grieve our sacrifices, as this frees us to fully engage in our present moment without lingering resentment building in our hearts.
We become rigid, controlling, and unloving when we don’t learn to be flexible and yield to the needs of each moment.
Continue to make plans and follow through with your original intentions as best you can. And be willing to roll with it when life throws you a curve ball or two as well.
Photo by Kristijan Arsov on Unsplash
