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How Flexible Are You?

Lauren Grace Living

Archive

How Flexible Are You?

I’m not referring to whether or not you can touch your toes or not (although if you can’t you should really work on that). Instead I’m referring to how flexible you are in life. Are you the type of person that likes to plan ahead, follow a routine, and has a hard time adjusting to change? Or are you really spontaneous, living your life with no plan, and just going with the flow taking whatever life gives you?

If you haven’t guessed by now I’m the anal planning type. I follow a pretty rigid routine everyday, I like to plan ahead and prepare as much as possible, and when things don’t go the way I planned I have a little mini freakout in my head. I can handle change just fine…. as long as I see it coming and have time to prepare for it that is. Unexpected change however, can definitely through me off balance. Even if that change is good.

And I’ll be honest I’ve never had a desire to be the spontaneous type. I don’t want to fly off to Paris on a nights notice. I enjoy meticulously planning and packing for trips and being prepared. Nor do I want to live my days with no structure, routine, or discipline. I actually enjoy waking up at 6 am for my daily meditation practice. Call me crazy, but that time really helps prepare my mind and spirit for the day ahead. There is a lot of benefit to living a structured life. For one I get a lot done by planning out my work, I stay healthier by scheduling my workouts and planning healthy meals ahead of time, and I am rarely ever caught in a last minute crisis from not having been prepared or procrastinating. Now with that said I am beginning to realize that while structure is great I could definitely benefit from adopting a more flexible approach to life.

A few weeks ago I was given a last minute invite to join a group of girls for drinks and dinner. Normally I hate doing anything last minute and would turn the invite down even though I had no other plans that night. But for some reason that night I was feel adventurous and decided to get ready real quick and meet them out. I ended up having such a great time that when I got home it made me wonder how many other nights I had missed out on because I didn’t want to break my “routine” and do something last minute. I decided right then and there that I would start to be more flexible with my life and add a little spontaneity to my days.

Since then I found myself saying yes a lot more often, both in business and in friendships. I’ve had last minute marketing opportunities pop up that have furthered my career. And I’ve ended up spending more time with friends, having more fun, and creating more memories. With the new semi-spontaneous me I’ve noticed that my planning approach to life has softened as well. Instead of trying to predict and plan every detail and every area of my life I am letting myself be more receptive and open to what life has to offer. And I am finding that life has brought me many pleasant surprises that are far better then I could have planned on my own. I also react to situations outside of my control way better then I use to. Instead of throwing a temper tantrum when things don’t go the way I planned I have a much calmer reaction and adjust to the situation in whatever way I need to.

Now this doesn’t mean that I’ve done away with structure and routine. I am still pretty disciplined but I’ve just started to bend the rules a little more. I am realizing that living a successful life isn’t just about being disciplined and getting shit done. It’s also about having a flexible enough approach that you can live life to the fullest and adjust to what life brings you. Because lets face it, no matter how much we plan we can’t predict the future. But if we remain flexible enough in our approach we can easily adjust and adapt to unexpected situations. Plus I’m learning that a little spontaneity can be a whole lot of fun! So who knows maybe I will be flying to Paris on a nights notice one of these days…

So where are you on the spectrum of structure and flexibility? Do you need to loosen up your routine more? Or could you use more structure and discipline in your life? Let me know in the comments below.