So very hard for me

We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ~Joseph Campbell

Those words speak to me deeply. See, I'm a planner by nature. It's literally in my blood to have everything planned out and ready to go. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty good at taking things in stride as they come up and interfere with what I've planned. But as long we can stick with the greater master plan. Now, being a Christian, I know that my plan means absolutely jack in the grand scheme of things. But this doesn't keep me from planning. Nope. I just plug away with my mental and written lists and timelines and plans. And when we deviate from that, I make a new plan based on that.

Quite honestly, I don't think that planning is such a bad thing. I think that it helps keep your head on straight sometimes. It helps to keep the day-to-day routines going in a relatively straight line as to reach the final goal. But I do know that by following "my plan" I've missed out on a few opportunities along the way that could have been life altering.

So I'm trying to change my thoughts and actions on planning. I'm focusing more on the end results. I'm all about idea boards and visualizing the future and not so much about directing the way I get to it. I've always written out goals and taped them somewhere so that I can see them every day and remind myself why it is I get up and go in the mornings.

So what about my plan for life right now? Honestly, I don't have one. I mean, I kinda do. I know that I want a family some day. I know that I want to have a relatively equal balance of extended family, immediate family, career, religion and hobbies (yeah, I know, who doesn't). But honestly, I don't have a plan for tomorrow really.

In some ways it scares the crap out of me. I've never been like this. Ever. But in other ways, I feel liberated. I feel like nothing can possibly hold me back from whatever it is I want to do. Not even myself.

Here are the things I know will happen in my life in the next 5ish years
1. I will move out of Ohio. I have to. I have to spread my wings somewhere else. I feel stale and held down here. I love my family more than anything and it will be so damn hard to not have them within a quick car trip, but I honestly believe the world gets smaller every day.
2. I will make a very wise career move. Clearly, since I'm planning on leaving the state, I'll have to make a change of employer. What position I will work into from here, I'm not quite sure. But I do know it will be very well thought out and strategic.
3. I will go back to school. It's something I've been putting off a bit and I really need to quit doing that. I need my masters. No ifs, ands or buts about it. In order to move up, I honestly believe I need a higher degree. And knowledge is something no one can ever take from you.

Beyond that, I'm not really sure what will happen in my life in the next 5 years.

Here's to hoping it's mostly positive though!