Cultivate Opportunity, Rather Than Sticking to a Plan, to Avoid a Mid-Life Crisis

Someone has probably asked you what your plan is for your life. They may have asked enough that you feel like you have to have one. However, if you adhere too strictly to a plan, it could backfire. Instead, try cultivating opportunity.

As advice site Barking Up the Wrong Tree explains, having opportunities available to you is a fantastic way to ensure that you always have a new avenue to pursue. Maybe your plan was to go to college for a few years and get a steady job in your chosen field. Once you get there, though, you discover you hate it. Every day is a drag, but what can you do? This is the only thing you’ve prepared for.

Instead, cultivating opportunity involves exploring your option. Spend some of your free time developing hobbies or skills. Maybe you won’t make a career out of your hobby immediately, but you’ll develop the framework necessary to pursue the opportunity later on. You don’t want to quit your office job to write that novel, for example, but if you write on the weekends, you’ll be better prepared for it if you decide you want to later.

This is what leads to a midlife crisis. You executed your plan perfectly. But in the process your goals shifted and now there’s no way to change course…

As Oscar Wilde once quipped: “There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” So Mencius says in an uncertain world (which contains an uncertain you) don’t focus on rigid life plans — cultivate opportunities.

Keep giving new things a try. Have hobbies. Develop different sides of yourself.

There are lots of ways to cultivate opportunities in your life. Join a club. Take classes on the weekend. Get involved in a local enthusiast community. Hobbies can quickly turn into jobs or side hustles if you’re passionate enough and you can almost always find a group of people interested in your hobby in your city or at least online.

2 Secrets To The Good Life, Backed By Ancient Wisdom And Research | Barking Up the Wrong Tree

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