I went to Switzerland with no plan, no hotels booked, and no tickets home

I used to overplan every aspect of my life. With a „get shit done” mug, calmly steaming with a fragnant hot coffee besides a keyboard and the two kalatea plants, I worked through todo lists on most waking hours. It became my second nature. Always checking tasks off, sighing, and adding another two. However, completing my Bachelor’s, trying on a data scientist shoes, and stubbornly fighting my writer’s block until 3am got me burnt out. I didn’t have ambitions – the ambitions had me.

The comforting safety of predictability came at the expense of a joylessly overwhelming and mechanical life.

I wanted to stop worrying

Planning was how I coped with stress. The future, however, was always going to be uncertain. I needed to step off the treadmill of predicting all the possible outcomes and get at peace with uncertainty. It was the only way to start enjoying what I’ve already done.

Today, one year later, I am blown away by how well it went.

I never planned less and enjoyed life more than now

The discomfort of overpreparing has led me to a therapy where I had an epiphany.

My moonshot goals and watertight plans was an attempt to prove others I was worthy of their time and affection. It blown me away! Now the fear of rejection is gone and enjoying life feels safe and right. I am writing these very words from a hotel in Zermatt, Switzerland I just booked last night. Where will I go on Friday? Not sure, I don’t plan that far!

And my relationships? With less stress and more joy, they got stronger than ever.

Life rewards being present today

By anxiously worrying about the hypothetical future failures, we miss out on the joys of today.

The future can’t be controlled, though, and most failures don’t matter in the long run anyway. Just like we choose to worry, we may choose to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.