Not Having a Plan

I’m sure I’m not the only one, but somehow it feels like everyone else in my age group (and even some younger gals!) have their act together by now and know what they want to do with their life, if they’re not already doing it.  I’m going to be twenty-seven next month and still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up (!). Who else thought that after graduation from uni you’d be straight into a kick-ass job?!

Ten years ago, I envisaged being a ‘proper’ grown-up with a ‘proper’ career by now (even though I didn’t know what said career would be). It’s difficult. Full-time education was like a warm, safe cocoon. And since leaving, it has felt that I’ve been floating along, not really knowing where I’m headed. I feel a bit lost; spending hours on Prospects, constantly looking through job titles and industries, but am yet to find ‘The One’ that speaks to me. Maybe I just haven’t found it yet, but I worry that I don’t have a calling as such. I go through phases where I vehemently want to do this or that, but the notion leaves me almost as quickly as it comes. Accounting, graphic design, podiatry, veterinary nursing, teaching… you name it, I’ve considered it.

I feel comfortable and safe when I’m actively working towards something; what’s more, I enjoy it. I began to undertake a couple of the aforementioned career paths, before coming to the harsh realisation that they weren’t for me. I then felt even worse. “Now what?”, and it was back to square one.

I guess I’m starting to realise as I pass my mid-twenties, that it’s okay to not have a set-in-stone plan. Life can take us to unexpected places at a moment’s notice, literally and metaphorically. For those of us who don’t really know, maybe we just have to practice being mindful, ‘keep it in the day’, and enjoy each day as it comes. Perhaps not having a plan is ideal in some ways, making things more open-ended and fluid. Maybe there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ and the best thing we can do is go with the flow. And have faith that things will be alright. I’m still on the lookout for my perfect career, of course – but I’m trying to not get so wrapped up and panicky about it.

What are your thoughts? Do you have a plan or are you trying to figure things out? I’d love to hear from others on the same boat!