Let Go Of Your Timeline If You Want To Get The Most Out Of Life

Let Go Of Your Timeline If You Want To Get The Most Out Of Life ©iStock/Lechatnoir

Most people starts out their adult life with a timeline and a game plan to make it happen. But life tends to get in the way of plans, and hardly anyone lives up to their original schedule. For the sake of your happiness and to really get the most out of life, toss your timeline out the window for these 9 reasons:

  1. Your timeline sets you up for failure. You’re setting an impossible standard for yourself. Almost no one’s life goes according to plan, so you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Why start out your adult life with a rigid, unrealistic timeline when you could enjoy your accomplishments as they come instead?
  2. Surprises make life interesting. If your life takes an unexpected turn, so what? That’s no reason to freak out. Curve balls here and there are what keeps life exciting. If you hit a milestone sooner or later than you initially wanted, that means your story is more interesting than you were anticipating.
  3. Timelines don’t leave room for adventures. Most of us experience a bit of wanderlust or an unexpected opportunity somewhere distant. Your timeline probably doesn’t leave room for exploring, adventures, or taking risks- which might end up being the most valuable experiences of your life.
  4. You’ll need breaks for self-care. You can’t hustle all day every day for the rest of your life. If taking some time for yourself screws up your life plan, then your plan isn’t actually practical. Having time for self-care is the best way to avoid burnout and reach all your ambitious dreams.
  5. Life might have bigger things in store for you than you had for yourself. The universe could have something completely different in mind for you than you did. You might have the best laid plan for your life, but if fate has something else in store for you- why fight it?
  6. Birthdays will be anxiety provoking instead of fun. Birthdays can be hard enough as we age without also feeling disappointed about what we haven’t accomplished yet. If the focus of every birthday is what you thought you would have done by now, you’ll miss out on all the fun.
  7. Rushing things might set you even further back. It’s easy to accidentally panic a bit when you realize you aren’t where you thought you’d be in life. If you try to rush a promotion, engagement, house purchase, baby, or anything else because you’ve “fallen behind schedule,” you might end up pushing those things farther away. There’s a big difference between going after something because you really truly want it now, and fighting for something to meet an arbitrary deadline. If the motive is bad, it will show in the results.
  8. You deserve a life where you aren’t constantly criticizing yourself. Your life won’t go completely as you imagine it will. You deserve a life where you find joy in your daily life and are proud of what you’ve done so far- not a life where you’re always down on yourself for not doing more. The longer you hold on to your time line, the more damage it will cause your sense of self-worth.
  9. You’ll get where you want to go eventually. You’ll reach your goals in your own time, so why beat yourself up over a silly timeline? Enjoy life and your achievements as they come. Breath, let go of your timeline, and have some faith that you’ll get there when it’s right.
Holly Harris is a freelance writer, full time student, and mommy to a toddler sass monster. In her (nearly nonexistent) free time, you can find her lifting something heavy in her home gym or chugging vodka sodas with friends. She contributes to several other sites, including Elite Daily.
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