“We’ve Got Plans for You”

Amy returned from a working trip abroad. “Welcome home!” her boss said on the first day back at the office.

Amy was a little disoriented, thinking of her days in Rajasthan instead of the office at home.

“I want to hear all about India,” the boss said, although it seemed the boss mostly wanted to hear all about work.

The boss said she had done a good job on the trip, which is always nice to hear. But then the boss said something else. “We’ve been talking while you were away, and we’ve got plans for you, Amy.”

The statement jolted Amy out of her Indian daydream. We’ve got plans for you.

On the trip, Amy had been thinking a lot about her future. Maybe it involved staying with the company, maybe not. But one thing was for sure: Amy wanted to make her own plans. “I’ve got some plans for me too,” she thought.

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It’s tempting to go along with other people’s plans for a while, buying yourself time. And then you look back and wonder, hey, what happened to my plans?

I don’t think that everyone toiling at a day job is unhappy. But I do think everyone has a dream, and if you aren’t willing to turn your dream into a plan, someone else will come along to impose their own plans on you. The next time this happens, think carefully: How do their plans fit into my plans?

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Photo by Polina