Be Flexible

Things happen. Other things have changed. These are two of the few certainties in life. What this means is that your carefully crafted plans for your future are going to get derailed at some point. You are going to encounter obstacles, delays, and occasionally you are just going to flat out change your mind about something.

All of this is normal. It is all part of this thing we call life. You have done your best to make plans that will lead you where you want to go, but you need to be flexible and adapt them as necessary.

The most common things you will encounter are obstacles and delays. When you encounter the former, you need to be willing to work around them or get over them. Just because something has come up that will make it harder for you to reach a goal, it does not mean you cannot do it. You keep trying!

Delays are inevitable. Sometimes they are deliberate. If you find that you are working too hard and risking burnout, you are going to need to slow down and adjust your schedule. Is this frustrating? Sure. But it is better than burning out and causing an even longer delay.

Most delays will not be of your choosing, however. Sometimes prices change and you must save more. (This counts as an obstacle as well.) Sometimes you break a leg and must heal before you can go on. Sometimes there is a global pandemic, and the entire world shuts down for a year.

What is the main thing required to meet all these challenges and still reach your goals?

Flexibility.

You must be willing to make changes and adjustments and problem-solve, no matter how frustrating things may be.

Finally, because life happens and you will grow and change along with it, you need to plan to reevaluate your priorities occasionally. Your priorities and your goals will shift as you go through life. This is normal. Perhaps climbing Mt. Fuji was a major life goal once but you no longer care about it. That is okay. Take it off the list.

Take out your plan and look at all your priorities and goals every few years. See how things have changed. What has changed? What is the same? What goals have you reached? Which ones do you no longer want? Which ones do you need to add? Redo your lists and plans accordingly.

Doing this regularly throughout your life will ensure that you always know where to focus your time and energy.