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The basic premise of this blog is that it is important to have an effective plan for your future, which I call a Forward Story. Other people refer to it as a life plan or a mission statement.

An excellent question is whether having your own Forward Story will ruin the fun, spontaneity, and excitement in life.

People who are so rigid in their planning for the future that they cannot enjoy life have something seriously wrong with their approach. Can you imagine writing a mission statement like this?

My purpose in life is to do only those things and have only those experiences that I have determined beforehand to do. I will not engage in any activity outside of what I have specifically planned to do.

Two Extremes

There are two extremes:

• No plans and maximum fun
• No fun and maximum plans

Can we agree that neither of these extremes is how we want to live?

I do think that the idea of a detailed Forward Story and the idea of complete spontaneity must compete with one another.

You may be a person that is free-spirited and doesn’t really believe in much planning for the future or envisioning what is possible. Perhaps you just live for the moment and believe that to do planning will either ruin the fun in life or will be a waste of time because what is going to happen is going to happen anyway. To you I would say that you can preserve the spontaneity and fun in life while still creating a Forward Story that will provide direction and meaning.

On the other hand, you may be a person that is organized, regimented, and future-oriented. To you spontaneous experiences are simply not on the schedule so should be avoided. To you I would say that you can write a meaningful Forward Story that builds in space and openness to adventure, fun, and spontaneity.

There is a reason that we all know the sayings:

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

and

You must stop and smell the roses.

I have to admit that some of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had were at times when something unexpected and off-schedule happened. Let’s face it, an important part of the human experience is actually experiencing it. Are you really alive if you can’t feel the sun on your skin and the wind in your hair? Far from detracting from your Forward Story, these experiences simply add value to your life. There is nothing incompatible about having a plan and having fun. In fact, I think a great part of a Forward Story is to include a plan to have fun. This is the part of the story that I refer to as the realm of play. You know, the kind of play that Jack should really open up to.

In our next article we will talk a little more about “play” that prevents Jack’s dullness.