Why Do Some People Say It’s Better Not to Make Detailed Life Plans — and How Living in the Moment Helps You Handle Life’s Unpredictable Events?
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should you make detailed life plans | planning vs living in the moment | how to avoid anxiety about the future | handling unpredictable events in life
The Common Confusion Around Life Planning
You may have heard people say things like:
“Don’t plan too much.”
“Life is unpredictable anyway.”
“Just go with the flow.”
At first, it sounds wise.
But taken literally, it can be misleading.
The truth is simple: you must plan your life.
Planning gives direction, structure, and clarity.
The real problem is not planning —
the problem is mentally living inside the future after planning.
Planning Is Necessary — Anxiety Is Not
When people plan their future, something subtle happens.
Instead of using the plan as a guide, they begin to emotionally attach themselves to the outcome.
Questions start looping in the mind:
- What if this doesn’t work?
- What if something goes wrong?
- What will I do if I fail?
This constant future-oriented thinking creates anxiety.
So the issue is not thinking about the future —
it is thinking about the future unnecessarily.
The Right Way to Plan and Act
A healthy approach to life looks like this:
- Plan clearly
Write down your goals, timelines, and steps. - Then shift your attention to the present
Once planning is done, your job is no longer to think about the future —
your job is to act now.
When your awareness is fully in the present moment, your actions become sharper, calmer, and more effective.
When your mind is split between:
- what you are doing now, and
- what may or may not happen later,
your effectiveness drops.
Why Present-Moment Focus Makes Actions Powerful
The mind has limited energy.
When you are focused only on the present task:
- attention deepens
- mistakes reduce
- clarity increases
- results improve
But when you act while worrying about the future or replaying the past, your energy is scattered.
That is why many capable people underperform —
not because they lack ability, but because their mind is elsewhere.
Anxiety Comes From Thinking About Things That Are Not Required Now
Most anxiety is about problems that:
- are not happening now
- may never happen
- cannot be solved at the moment
For example, if you are planning an event one month from today:
- You need to think about it only when you are working on it
- At all other times, thinking about it adds no value
Yet many people carry the event in their mind all day, every day — suffering in advance.
Ironically, when the actual day arrives, most things fall into place naturally.
Why Most Future Problems Solve Themselves
Life has its own intelligence.
When the time comes, you will:
- have more information
- see solutions more clearly
- act more effectively
Many issues that look big today don’t even exist when the moment arrives.
By staying present, you allow life to respond when it actually needs to — not before.
What About Unpredictable Events?
Unpredictable moments are part of life.
They always have been. They always will be.
Sometimes:
- you cannot prevent them
- you cannot control them
- you cannot prepare fully for them
And yet, notice something important:
When unpredictable events happen, you may feel disturbed for a while —
but eventually, you accept and move on.
If acceptance is inevitable later,
why suffer mentally before it happens?
Living in the present does not remove unpredictability —
it removes unnecessary suffering.
Presence Builds Emotional Resilience
When you are rooted in the present moment:
- surprises are handled better
- decisions are calmer
- emotions settle faster
Even when outcomes are negative, the recovery is quicker.
This is one of the core insights shared in A.T. Rajkumar’s work —
mental clarity does not come from controlling life,
but from not letting unnecessary thoughts control you.
So What Is the Right Answer?
The answer is not complicated:
- Always plan
- Never be anxious about the plan
- Think about the future only while implementing it
- At all other times, stay in the present moment
When you live this way:
- peace increases
- effectiveness improves
- life feels lighter
- success becomes more natural
You stop fighting life — and start flowing with it, consciously.
Final Thought
Planning gives direction.
Presence gives power.
When both come together, you don’t just move toward success —
you move toward peaceful success.
And that is a level of living most people never experience.