I have a WAY? Is that better than a plan?
I just saw a Sci-Fi movie called 'Serenity', and I wish I could recommend it, but it really wasn't that great. However, it was corny and fairly off-kilter full of special effects, so if that is your thing, be sure to check it out.
However, this post isn't a movie review, but rather a big tip of the hat to one of the things that was said in the movie that made the 90+ minutes worth the time invested…
One of the main characters is your average space-cowboy ship captain, and he is trying to keep his rag-tag ship and crew in one piece as they go about trying to save the day.
At one point he is consulting with the ever-present wise old mentor-type, and relaying the fact that his plan of action to get out of their present mess is something less than heroic.
Certainly not what you would expect from the space-cowboy captain and star of the show…
His mentor gives him the all-knowing smile and tells the space-cowboy that he isn't going to pursue that plan of action because it isn't his "way".
Space-cowboy, who was feeling pretty good about his plan to cut losses and leave the battle, says the following:
I wanted to get off the couch and applaud! What a simple and telling set of questions that describe our entire lives!
Each of us is a conscious creator of our own lives, and we live the lives that we do based on - and only on - the things that we truly want to experience.
Yes, I can hear the objections coming out of the audience already, but in your heart, you know it to be true. We create both the success in our lives, as well as the lack of it.
You don't have to believe in the Law of Attraction in order to believe that you are in control of your own destiny. Your thoughts become your beliefs, which become your habits, which in turn become your lifestyle. It's a point of fact.
However, in blindly trying to control our lives and to take the actions that we believe are going to bring us the experiences that we want, we tend to flail about wildly believing in something as fleeting and non-grounded as a plan?
Whose brilliant idea was that? Base your entire future around a plan of action that you make which only includes the beliefs and experiences you have had up to that point?
Sure, I have no doubt that your "plan" sounds great when you make it, but what happens when the circumstances change?
What are you going to do when your master plan falls flat on its face because the beliefs and experiences you had when you made that plan were not sufficient to see the big picture?
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that you shouldn't plan things out. To the contrary - I am a firm believer in a good solid plan of attack.
However, a plan is meant to be 2 things:
- Temporary
- Flexible
Your plan should be a temporary solution that will take you from point A to point B. Also, your plan should be flexible enough to allow for the variables that will most likely effect the outcome of any given situation.
Who you are on the inside, however - your way - is infinitely more important.
- You wouldn't plan to get married to someone who wanted children if you didn't want to be married or if you had no interest in child-rearing.
- You wouldn't plan to go to law school if you didn't want to be a lawyer or have some other job in the justice system.
- You wouldn't plan to become an entomologist if you hated bugs.
- You wouldn't plan to open up a restaurant at the mall if you disliked crowds and/or if you detested teenagers.
In each of those examples - and infinitely more just like them - people don't plan to do things that they have no interest in or aptitude for. It is not their way.
A "plan" is just that - a plan. It is a series of events or circumstances that will ultimately lead to the accomplishment of some goal. Some plans are long-term, some are short-term.
However, being true to who you are as an individual is a lifelong pursuit. You've been doing it since you were born and you'll keep on doing it until you die.
Your understanding of who you are and what you are all about may change as you learn more about life and about yourself. Nonetheless, as you learn more, you simply learn better ways to become who you believe you are supposed to be.
As you go through life asking yourself at various moments whether or not you should turn left or turn right, ask yourself which choice will allow you to honor your way.
I think you will find there is always a transport willing to take you in that direction.
