Making plans and watching them flip in 2020

It’s the second month of the year and I’m yet to wrap my mind around what I’d like to have as the outcome of this year; if I could mastermind the planning myself.

A lot of (amazing) things that have happened to me, I realize, were brewed from spontaneity. I wouldn’t have had the guts to initiate the majority. And the rest that was circumstantial, I couldn’t have planned it, come a hundred years.

So I wonder, is there a real need for making actual life plans? If life’s greatest gifts to you have only happened out of zero preparations and zero drafted plans, would you still waste spend time in planning?

Earlier today I needed to scribble some notes from the material I was reading. Because this other article I read said scribbling (well, taking notes) was one of the keys to memory retention. And there I was, attempting to guide myself through the process.

I found this old notepad in one of the grooves of my tv stand. I pulled it out and scrambled around the pages for an empty page that I could scribble on. Various random non- titled notes were on different pages, it was apparent I’d been on such scribble chases in the past. Hello memory retention!!

A page from the notepad then drew my attention. The page was dogeared and slightly torn at the border corner. It was a spirally bound notepad, also was carelessly kept, so bad pages were forgiven.

What caught my glance on the page while flipping was an interesting scribble which had a subject matter: “2019 Expectations”. The content appeared like what I could have written because it had my kind of thoughts in listicles. There were around 5 wishes I’d penned down. But this is not something I do – plan for the future, talk more of writing it out. And I don’t remember making a Goal list last year. With what patience?

I skimmed through the list and they were mostly rehearsed, far reaching, overly optimistic goals. It would have been almost impossible to even make them into prayer points because they seemed generic and desperate.

One of the desires penned was for postgraduate admission when I wasn’t even applying or searching for scholarships. Such a request seemed like I was testing God when He didn’t need to be tested. I began striking out each list with the pen I was going to use to make my new scribble.

I would read a list point/ line through, shake my head in despair and slash! I’d run my pen over it with such speed.

I got to one wish that made me halt, wide-eyed. I had to stop because I had put a time frame to the wish and in hindsight, it got granted just the month before the ultimatum. Exactly how I wished it. It was a form of a job request. And it was one of those ones I’d have thought was ridiculous and far-reaching and, honestly, desperate.

I quickly searched the remainder of the lists and found out that nothing, not a single one, came close to being granted.

But I got one, one out of the list. Just the way I penned it.

Now, what does that mean? If you could have a chance to get even one wish fulfilled, shouldn’t you attempt?

So I’m shaking in anxiety, can’t wait for next year. Can’t wait to learn which of the list of wishes I’m going to write now would get granted. It’s making my heart leap.

I’m one of those who see this year as the start of a new decade, so let’s make this happen!!

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2 Comments

  1. Great post. I had 5 wishes last year. A funded PhD, a visa to match, an affordable place to live and a job to pay for it…and a baby. God has given me all but the baby and in thankful.

    I’m making up this year’s list as I go along… Right now, it’s to keep use all healthy and alive through this pandemic.

    1. I love how mindful and focused your wishes were, and I love how you ascribed the fulfillment to God. I wish God’s response to your wishes this year blow your mind!

      And yea, healthy immune system seems to be what we can build up to hopefully

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