“Que sera, sera.”

“Que sera, sera” is not a motto I live by. I like security. I like knowing what I’m doing. “Whatever will be, will be”…because I’ve been planning for three months, is more like it. However, this is much harder to live by, and not as catchy.

If you know me, you know that I am constantly freaking out. What am I going to do when I graduate? What should I be doing now? What should I have done four months ago and why didn’t I do it? Why didn’t my parents make me learn another three languages just so I could put quad-lingual on my resume? Can I learn three other languages in four months?

Yes, these are the thoughts that go on in my head. I know that I have 6 months before graduation. I know that I am fairly intelligent and am somewhat prepared to join the real world. Somehow this just isn’t comforting me.

While perusing random sites on Google, I ran across this advice from a book by Dan Pink, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need.

1. Don't be rigid about planning out each step well in advance . . . it's not possible to do.

2. Build on what you're good at and avoid relying on what you aren't good at.

3. Focus on what you can do for others rather than what's in it for you.

4. Keep at it. Practice makes perfect.

5. Take on big challenges and learn from them.
6. Make a difference.

I feel like I’ve heard plenty of cliché advice from everyone and everywhere. Maybe it’s just timing but #1 really stood out to me. As someone who has every step calculated, it sucks, because like dominos, one thing doesn’t go right, and everything you just planned is bust. (I like checkers better anyways.) Mr. Pink suggests doing something “because you think it is inherently valuable (regardless of what it may lead to.)” Not exactly mind-blowing, but you know what, a lot more helpful than “I think, therefore I am.” (Thanks for nothing Descartes.) Planning and preparation are two very different things. I’ve realized that I shouldn’t be planning; I still am not even sure what I really want to do. (The irony here though is that I’ve thought of becoming an event’s planner.)

Most people don’t have the luxury to wander about, doing what interests them or what they love. But I think that most people don’t try hard enough either. So, my new motto for life, courtesy of Thoreau, “Live the life you imagined.”