Recently I was chatting to one of my coaches about the fact I’d like to look forward to the future more than I worry about it. I love the idea of enjoying my future before it’s happened, yet it sort of seems bonkers. But worrying about my future before it’s happened, that seems normal. Isn’t that crazy?
How come we can easily imagine the things we don’t want to happen (i.e. worry), yet we don’t usually imagine the things we do want to happen?
Then we got chatting about my desire to plan. I’m a natural planner; I enjoy making plans and following them. However, over the last few years I’ve been learning to embrace and appreciate spontaneity and it’s had some really positive outcomes as I’ve been much more open-minded about things.
I’ve realised I don’t always need to plan, and actually sometimes it can be better not to plan. I can’t always predict the opportunities the future might hold and I’d choose to stay open to them.
At the moment I’m finding myself feeling a little apprehensive about the future – not knowing what I’ll be doing or when. This applies to pretty much every area of my life as my life nowadays is much more fluid and changing (and the world we’re living in at the moment is changing too). There are some incredible advantages to this, and it’s also meaning I don’t have as much of a desire to plan too rigidly, but this still feels a little unusual to me.
We discussed the idea of a fun and flexible future which sounds great but feels a little alien to me still. I’m used to planning the detail before I get excited about it. I’m not used to enjoying something until I know it’s going to happen.
These thoughts have been percolating in my mind for the last couple of weeks. I’ve realised that I already do this sometimes in my work and I can apply my learning from my business to this situation. I was reminded of this today with a post from Rich Litvin on Facebook today about being committed but not attached. He said:
When you can channel the energy of being COMMITTED BUT NOT ATTACHED you can accomplish ANYTHING.
Rich Litvin
I do this in my business. I’m committed to developing my business and continuing to support people in realising their true selves and living an incredible life. I’m completely committed to this. There are a number of different ways I could achieve this; some of which I already offer and some I could offer in the future. I’m not attached to the way I do this. This approach enables me to be flexible and open to opportunities whilst focused and committed to fulfilling my goals.
What would it mean for me to apply the idea of being committed but unattached to other areas of my life?
This idea is really exciting me – it helps me focus on my values and guiding principles without getting bogged down in the details. It helps me remain open to opportunities whilst staying true to myself. It aligns with the way I feel about my relationships with family and friends too, and I’m going to consider how it fits other aspects.
How could you apply the idea of being committed but unattached to the different parts of your life?
How could it help you look forward to your future without needing to plan?
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