Have you ever set out plans for doing something, started making great progress on those plans and then due to some impulse found them completely off track and you are starting over? It is kind of frustrating is it not.
Yes, I know we have to be open to changes in our plans in order to take advantage of serendipity. However, I do not think serendipity is going to help me learn C++ or SQL. Ok, maybe understand bits. But…Oh, FINE! That’s not really how I mean for this to go. I was going to write about how often I had just ended up frustrated by having to start over yet each case I thought to write about turned out to have worked out well resulting in some gem or blessing. So here we go.
One case has to do with the surfboard. Originally I had been saving up to take scuba lessons. My husband at the time was already scuba certified and this would be something we could do together. That same summer my plan was to go to the beach often and rent a surfboard while I learned to surf and then the next year I would maybe buy my own board. I do not remember all the details. I do know that that summer I found myself carting around my own 9 foot surfboard and not learning to scuba dive. Getting the scuba and surfboard plan totally screwed up turned out to be a really good thing. Not because of all the fun with the surfboard, which is a given. It was more because of all the anxiety that was avoided by not trying to learn to scuba dive. It takes a lot of effort and concentration just for me to be able to snorkel. I do not think I could get past that to get to the rest of it. As an example, my first snorkel trip I had to concentrate so intensely on breathing that I do not remember anything we saw on the reef.
Another occurrence had to do with a new guitar or, ultimately, three. I had started playing guitar again heavily. I found the acoustic I was playing to be challenging and I did not like the sound of the ABS back. I knew I wanted a new one. I was moving soon and did not want to move one more guitar. So I decided I would wait until I moved. In the interim, I figured it would be a good idea to start trying out a few guitars so I had an idea of what I might want. I also came to the conclusion that I wanted a new electric guitar as well. I found an electric I liked and so I had an idea of what that was going to cost as well as the amplifier that I decided would go with it. The plan for the electric guitar and amplifier was to wait for Christmas. I also happened to find another electric guitar that was a dream to play and cool to boot, and a limited release. Part of my plan for the acoustic was to not go over a certain amount. The only part of the whole plan that I managed to keep to was the part where I waited until after I moved. I moved and the very next day I went to the music store. This is where I found out that that cool guitar was a limited release and they had only one in the right color. So, I decided to get it. But I still needed to do something about the acoustic. So, off to have a look and try a few. I found one that, contrary to my preference was the same price, or maybe a little more, as the cool electric. I spent 3 to 4 times more than I intended that day. The other electric I got a month and a half later and the amplifier about a month after that. Had I stuck to my plan I might have missed out on an opportunity to get to play out live, in public with other musicians. That first purchase set up a chain that has resulted in my getting to play at this great monthly blues jam.
There have been other cases where I set out with one plan and found myself totally sideways to the whole thing and it has ultimately worked out much better than anticipated. A couple have been even fairly recent.
At this point I am starting to wonder if perhaps the way to make things happen is to make a plan to do something. Not so that you can rigorously stick to the plan to the end result. Instead, I think the plan attracts serendipity. Make a plan, work it, be flexible enough to deviate if needed, and recognize opportunity when it presents itself.