When I was 20, I was sure that if something was not scheduled or planned, then I would fail. Dreaming of a career, personal life, and fulfillment, I wrote out plans every day and strictly followed them. Much has changed since then, but one detail has remained: it is still difficult for me to sometimes let go of control and let life go its own way. Of course, plans are important, but life is not always ready to follow them.

And here is what I realized from my experience: following a plan does not always help you be happy. Moreover, the desire to control every moment sometimes turns us into slaves of our own schedule.

An example? Please.

Recently, a friend suggested that I go on a short trip to a place I hadn’t even planned to visit. Thousands of “buts” flashed through my head in a split second: what would happen with work, how would I plan my expenses, what if… and so on. However, I decided to go.

And here it is — several whole days of freedom! I managed to do incredible things: walks along unfamiliar streets, conversations with people who shared unusual stories, and I literally felt myself exhaling with relief, deciding that there was no need to rush anywhere, no need to collect sums for reports. At one point, I realized that it was this “unstressed” spontaneity that gave me more joy than a pre-planned vacation, in which every hour was buried in to-do lists and intentions.

And what if I had stuck to my plan at that moment, missing out on those wonderful, unplanned moments? In the same way, I have often faced choices where I had to put my expectations on hold or patiently go through the chaos. For example, at work, where everything at first seemed like a meaningless “bromine,” and suddenly a moment of insight comes, and I understand that it was in such chaos that I had the page I needed for success.

I mean that it is not always worth grabbing onto the ideal plan that we can draw for ourselves, turning every moment into a race for time. Sometimes it is useful to go with the flow of life, because the most beautiful moments happen at the most unexpected moment. We need to be able to stop, listen to ourselves and give in to our impulses.

If you, like me, sometimes catch yourself trying to plan everything, remember that there is something more valuable - this is an internal compass and the ability to enjoy the gifts that the moment brings.

Don't be afraid to give yourself free rein and trust life. Life will flow according to its own laws, and perhaps it is in this flow that you will find what you have been looking for so long. Plans are great, but sometimes it is important to allow yourself not to follow them and just enjoy what is. All these unexpected events that we often worry about often turn out to be the most significant in the end. Listen to yourself, and perhaps you will discover a whole world where every moment is a step towards something new.

Katechka