Map out your future, but do it in pencil

Some wise person once said nothing is achievable without commitment, that without concentration of efforts  no results can be expected.  Of course he/she is right, diamonds only appear after carbon undergoes intense compression. But in a world full of uncertainties, it isn't guaranteed that diamond will be the final outcome or whether the outcome will be the diamonds we want. Which is perhaps why Don Bon Jovi said the words , "Map your future, but do it n pencil".

In other terms, make commitments but don't be as committed. Some of us can live with partial commitment but if you are like me you might find this a bit confusing. Isn't success simply a cumulative function of pure efforts. Shouldn't it be a simple mapping of hard work to results? Well, it is, but as these stories reveal , there is another factor involved, one that defies the laws of perfectionism and order.

Alexander Fleming for example was determined to make the 'wonder drug' that would kill all bacteria. So he collected samples of all sorts of bacteria in petri dishes, trying out every drug. After spurious attempts he finally resorted to discarding the experiment. In this process he noticed something rather odd, in one of the petri dishes where mold had accidentally grown, turns out the mold had the magic drug.  That my friend is how we got the antibiotic penicillin; by accident. The X-rays that are so extensively used today; they were discovered by Wilhelm Roentgen who accidentally discovered them as he was doing research on electrons. It is worth knowing that the Microwave oven was also invented by accident. The scientist Percy Spencer was busy researching on radar until he noticed that the chocolate bar in his pockets was melting. A couple of years later we now have the magic heating box.

So yes, there is an element of chance and luck in the equation of success.  No matter how convinced we are, we will always have those doubts; no matter how focused we are we'll always make mistakes. And there is nothing wrong with that. The formula, the commitment makes a good headline but the real story is in the doubts and mistakes.

Bon Jovi had it right, 'map out your future in pencil'. It doesn't mean you should stop planning at all, it just means the plan will constantly change. As much important as it is to have a defined structure and life,we are not robots. So, yeah,  go ahead scribble that plan in pencil, make mistakes, erase a few bits, modify a few bits, show your human side,  A beautiful painting could come out in the end, who knows?

Hello overachiever...

Its May, and you are starring at a project that was to be accomplished by last year. You had a mission, you have a goal , a defined routine; a sense of purpose. Everything was in tune,
until when life got really messy and you started living to survive, from one deadline to the next. In between these you lost track of the mission in the first place. Well, I say welcome to reality , a land where randomness is the norm and laws of physics stop to hold.

If you are an overachiever, then I know at these times you just want to punish yourself for not meeting that goal in time. You probably want to give up already; looking back at the original plan just makes you realize how immature and silly you were. Guess what? You are not alone. Plan A almost always never works. Besides, you'll learn a lot more as you improvise.

We all fall off our commitments sometimes, either due to failed attempts or just the fact that we are human. The worst thing you can do at that point is give up. It may be just one task, and failing it isn't a big deal but as you already know misery loves company. The psychological impact of that action to your brain is way greater than the action itself. Many of us underestimate that impact, but quitting may sound practical, sets up a ripple effect on subsequent aspects of our lives.

We strive for perfection and excellence. But we are too human to simply use mathematical models to give us results. If every task worked as planned, there would no point on planning in the first place. If it helps, Da Vinci's model of an aeroplane has only been realized 5 centuries latter. Point is, Its never too late to start over.
The next time you are at the quitting point, I say, Congratulations you are officially a fully fledged human, Those plans you had, they couldn't last a second in the world.  Life is amazing, it offers a plan B, and the plan is "Dust yourself up and beat the odds". Have a great week!

Your home.

Here's a quick question. Where is your home? It is probably that place where you grew up as a child but I define home as the place where everything is just warm, safe and stable. I bet that place seems miles away now that you know no real place can be safe and warm and stable simultaneously. Life is tidally changing, rarely predictable; that nice stable home was  an illusion.Why then do we bother with  plans, routines and timetables?

Your psychological home is in your daily routine. The things that are so deeply ingrained in your subconscious that you don't question them anymore. The things you do whether you are having the worst day or a bad day. The reason why you wake up in the morning,  at the time you did (hopefully there is reason to that). Your home is  a product of your goals and discipline. Some people  like Barack Obama, Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin have had interesting routines, and its probably the reason why they are successful.

Life is unstable, but that doesn't mean we have to absorb that turmoil too. It is that home that puts us back on track when nothing makes sense or when everything falls into place. The home is our powerhouse , like a physical home, it has to be maintained and improved through discipline. “Why is discipline important? " the author Leon MAcArthur once asked. Well, my answer is simple, actions tend to become habits and habits do have consequences. Discipline teaches us to operate by principle rather than desire. Discipline may sound impractical or hard but in the long run its the best thing you can do for your sanity,

We all know want wake up to nothing and do everything as we desire. Achieve without having to plan or anticipate anything. As sweet as that sounds, that's not living, its surviving. Doing that merely means surrendering. Living for convenience sake simply robs us of our ability to be masters of our destiny. Life is too amazing for that.

The media has been very successful in poisoning our minds. They use the terms like, "life is short", "do whatever you want"," chase paper". They are infact right, life is too short to just live for convenience, you can do  whatever you want, but if you want to reach that goal, choose wisely. Money is important but it is as they say just paper. Long story, make time to build your home. You might fall off that bandwagon once in a while but when that happens, make sure you have a stable home to go back to. Have a great week!