When we’re younger, we picture our futures. We have this idea of what we want our lives to be. We write it down on paper. Our hopes and dreams. The things we hope we’ll achieve. The people we hope we’ll become. But here’s the thing about writing things on paper. Ink always fades. The dreams we had, choices we hoped we’d make, people we thought we’d become — it changes. We grow older. We grow wiser, and the things we want out of this life change. Things don’t always match up. When we’re younger we think by a certain age we should have accomplished certain things. By a certain age, we should have it all figured out. But as we get older we realize that’s not always the case. We realize that that’s not how life works. More importantly, we realize that it’s not how life is supposed to work. We’re not supposed to have it all figured out. Life has its own plan for us. We never know what could be around the next corner. We never know what the next moment can bring. Life has its own plan for us, but we need to realize that it’s okay to deviate from the plan. It’s okay to look at the life laid out before us and decide to try something different. To choose color instead of black and white. To plan for the unexpected. To decide to build something else.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s good to have a blueprint. To have an idea of what is is in this life that we’re trying to build. The person we become. The life we live. The legacy we leave. But it’s important to remember the purpose of what blueprint. It’s an outline. It’s something else’s beginning. It shows us a creation’s foundation. It’s meant to be built upon; to be brought to life. Think about when we’re building anything. Things happen along the way. Situations we weren’t prepared for. Conditions we weren’t expecting. In the process of building a life, life begins to happen. That’s why we can’t be afraid to change the plan. To add a level. To change the placement of a room. Or to knock down a wall completely. We have to recognize that we have the power to build something that we’re proud of. But most importantly, that at any moment, we always have the power to rebuild.
If life isn’t going according to our blueprint — we need to update our plan. If it feels like a door is closed, we need to build ourselves a window. If we’re not as far along as we hoped we’d be, stop worrying about the end result and appreciate the progress made. We can create the life we’ve always wanted, but we can’t let it stop us from living the life we create. We have the power to build our lives. To build something so remarkable and uniquely our own. To stick to the blueprint or throw it out completely. The reality is there’s no right or wrong way to get there. There’s no right or wrong way to build it. At the end of the day, all that matters is that we built something that we’re proud of; that we’ve created a life. Our lives are in a continuous state of construction. We are always works in progress. So trust the journey. Learn to appreciate the blueprint. But spend the time actually building a life. We may not have ended up where we hoped we’d be when we started, but maybe we’re in the process of building something even better. Or maybe, just maybe, we’re exactly where we are supposed to be. Under construction. Improving. Building a life.
