I used to think that I was a free spirit who loved spontaneity. I was happy with being able to drop everything and jump at whatever opportunity that crossed my path. While fun, spontaneity can leave you with no distinct destination or purpose in life. Throughout the years, I’ve come to realize that I actually need to have some sort of plans in place. Maybe it’s because I’m trying to find balance between my work and volunteer service while also dealing with a chronic health condition. Having a plan helps me focus my energies on what I really want to accomplish. But even with the best laid plan in place, life happens. Things come up and you have to adjust.
For example, Lisa and I have been planning a portrait session for her and her husband, Dave, since last year. She picked a quaint little winery and had the cold weather outfits all set. But every time we set a date, it rained buckets no matter what month it was. Finally, we chose a date in July. Lisa joked “I’m fairly sure it won’t rain.” I told her that if it did, I gave up on this session. But the day came beautifully sunny and ..... HOT as blazes. Then upon arriving at the winery, they had an unannounced early closure. We were left with a very short window of time. I could tell that this news flustered Lisa but I calmly assured her that we would do what we could at the winery until they kicked us out. And so we did. Then we took a drive down the backroads to see what other interesting locations we could find. We eventually stopped at an open field. At first, it didn’t look like much. But on closer inspection, I decide it could work. Then Lisa mentioned that she brought an old chair, just in case, and they both had cowboy boots too. Are you kidding me?! Yes, please! So although this location was not in our plans, it turned out better than what we could have imagined.
People will always argue the pros and cons of spontaneity verses planning. I say, embrace adaptability! Make the plans and set your goals. But be able to adapt when life throws those curves at you.
