In life, nothing is certain. You can plan your entire life by the bullet point, but when some external force comes unannounced, it can put a halt to all your plans and render it pointless. However, isn’t that what makes life worth living?
Think about it. If you knew what will happen every minute of every day for the rest of your life, then what joy will you find in living it? If you knew everything that will happen from the second you were born to the last wisp of breath that leaves your lips on your deathbed, will you still want to live that life?
Living is all about marveling at the uncertainties because not knowing what will happen next gives you something to look forward to. Without the knowledge of what lies beyond, you can anticipate both good news and disappointment; you get to enjoy every day as if it’s your last because it might very well be.
Life needs some semblance of structure, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have room for spontaneity. In fact, your life needs bouts of spontaneity and recklessness because those unplanned moments give you the best experiences. Here are four ways to live your life by going with the flow:
Make Room for Adventures
Contrary to popular belief, spontaneity can actually be planned. If you’re someone who finds comfort in keeping a schedule, then you can bode well by designating a time for spontaneity. This doesn’t mean that you have to plan for what happens because that will do the opposite of your intended outcome.
Finding the time to be spontaneous only refers to keeping your time open for endless possibilities. This can start as designating a few hours in your schedule to make way for sudden dinner invites with your friends, or even scheduling a day off — a mental health day — to do whatever pops into your mind.
Save Some Money
You don’t how much of a hindrance not having money is because it keeps you from doing what you want when you want it. This is especially true if you’re living from paycheck to paycheck, and all your expenses are accounted for in your monthly budget.
It can be difficult to be spontaneous if you don’t have the financial freedom for it. For instance, you received a direct mail delivery of a one-day pass to the theme park you’ve always wanted to go to since you were young. But you don’t have the money to spend once you got there, you passed off the opportunity.
However, saving up money for your spontaneous activities can take care of this problem. Your savings don’t have to be big enough to pay for the down payment of your future house, but it needs to be enough to last you through a few days of adventure without worrying about what you’re going to eat the following week.
Say Yes Instead of No
When you have responsibilities weighing on your shoulders, it can be hard to be spontaneous because you might let those who depend on you down. This constant cloud of responsibilities looming over you will force you to say “no” to adventures, even when you want to say “yes.”
However, when you’re used to saying no, you might start seeing moments of relaxation or non-productivity as negative, even when you deserve the break. But of course, everything should be within reason and you shouldn’t say yes to everything offered to you because that can be dangerous.
So the next time you want to say no to a random invite for a friendly hang-out, take the time to think it through. This is because saying yes to the invite might just be what you need to relieve your stress from the responsibilities of the day.
Find Comfort in Solitude
Indeed, no man is an island. But sometimes, you have no other choice except to do things on your own because you can’t find a companion to join you, and that’s okay. For you to be truly spontaneous, you will have to find comfort in solitude and being on your own.
Don’t depend on the availability of other people when it comes to happiness because that’s just an entryway for disappointment. While it’s true that most experiences in life become more special in the presence of others, you should also be perfectly capable of being spontaneous by yourself.
So go to the park and do your hobbies, sign up for those barista classes you’ve been eyeing, or go to the museum that you said you’ll go to once you’ve found someone to go with. Too much time has already passed for you to just wait on the sidelines; you don’t need other people to be happy or do notable things.
A life filled with good, one-of-a-kind memories is a well-lived life. When you’re too busy trying to see your future, you miss out on the present and everything you could have done if you weren’t trying to predict what lies beyond. So don’t be afraid to travel the road less taken, you might be surprised at what it has to offer.
