Close Menu
The Baylor Lariat
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    Trending
    • Baylor community unites in flash flood relief efforts
    • Baylor rescinds LGBTQIA+ inclusion research grant after backlash
    • Students react to emergency alert following campus lockdown
    • Baylor shelter-in-place lifted following police pursuit of robbery suspects
    • Baylor graduate charged after killing cats with pellet gun, hanging bodies over utility lines
    • Baylor Football’s Alex Foster dies at 18
    • Board of Regents confirms budget, renovations, new leadership in May meeting
    • How facilities responds to storms, flooding in campus buildings
    • About us
      • Spring 2025 Staff Page
      • Copyright Information
    • Contact
      • Contact Information
      • Letters to the Editor
      • Subscribe to The Morning Buzz
      • Department of Student Media
    • Employment
    • PDF Archives
    • RSS Feeds
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    The Baylor LariatThe Baylor Lariat
    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz
    Friday, July 11
    • News
      • State and National News
        • State
        • National
      • Politics
        • 2025 Inauguration Page
        • Election Page
      • Homecoming Page
      • Baylor News
      • Waco Updates
      • Campus and Waco Crime
    • Arts & Life
      • Wedding Edition 2025
      • What to Do in Waco
      • Campus Culture
      • Indy and Belle
      • Sing 2025
      • Leisure and Travel
        • Leisure
        • Travel
          • Baylor in Ireland
      • Student Spotlight
      • Local Scene
        • Small Businesses
        • Social Media
      • Arts and Entertainment
        • Art
        • Fashion
        • Food
        • Literature
        • Music
        • Film and Television
    • Opinion
      • Editorials
      • Points of View
      • Lariat Letters
    • Sports
      • March Madness 2025
      • Football
      • Basketball
        • Men’s Basketball
        • Women’s Basketball
      • Soccer
      • Baseball
      • Softball
      • Volleyball
      • Equestrian
      • Cross Country and Track & Field
      • Acrobatics & Tumbling
      • Tennis
      • Golf
      • Pro Sports
      • Sports Takes
      • Club Sports
    • Lariat TV News
    • Multimedia
      • Video Features
      • Podcasts
        • Don’t Feed the Bears
      • Slideshows
    • Advertising
    The Baylor Lariat
    Home»Opinion

    Detailing plans for future can rob you from living in your present

    Jessica BabbBy Jessica BabbMarch 3, 2016 Opinion No Comments3 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    Recently as I was cleaning out my desk drawer, I found a letter I wrote myself a few years back before I began my freshman year of college. Of course, as the planner I am, the letter included a 10-year plan of where I see myself going in the future.

    According to this particular plan, by age 23, I am supposed to have graduated from Baylor with degrees in journalism and political science, have a broadcast job at a news station and “be happy.” By age 28, I am supposed to for sure be married, have a great job in a big city, be financially stable and have made a difference in someone’s life.

    Yeah, I know what you’re thinking. It sounds ridiculous, and to an extent it is. You can’t possibly plan out whether you are going to be happy or when you fall in love or even when you land your dream job. But the act of planning is something I have always done, regardless of how ridiculous it may sound. In actuality, this act of over planning is relaxing and offers me a sense of comfort in the chaotic world around me.

    However, the older I get, the more I realize that making intense and detailed plans for the future is actually hindering my ability to live in the present. I have noticed that when I spend my days solely making plans for tomorrow, for law school or even for when I am 30, I miss out on enjoying the life I have created for myself right now.

    Even though most people don’t plan quite as much as I do, this is still something I have noticed among many of my peers. I mean, we are in college with the intent to prepare and plan for our futures, so it’s hard not to get wrapped up into what’s coming next semester, what internship you will have the following summer or what you will do when you graduate.

    But it’s important to shift our focus.

    If we are always focused on the next chapter of our lives, we miss out on the wonderful moments in the chapter we are currently in.

    One of my favorite devotionals from “Jesus Calling” says it perfectly. “Stop trying to work things out before their times have come. Accept the limitations of living one day at a time. When you follow this practice, there will be a beautiful simplicity about your life: a time for everything, and everything in its time.”

    God’s has a plan for each one of us and it is important not to rush His plan because He is the only one that understands the perfect timing to our lives.

    At the end of the letter, I wrote a note to myself to “remember to be happy and enjoy life,” but, ironically, making too many plans and not living in the present makes it hard to enjoy the things in life you have already been granted. So instead of planning out every moment, think about letting go of control and remembering that you can’t rush the plan God has for you.

    Jessica Babb is a junior journalism and political science major from Harker Heights. She is broadcast managing editor for the Lariat.

    Jessica Babb

    Keep Reading

    Don’t believe myths about autism — reduce stigma by learning facts

    I never thought I’d miss my meal plan

    Violent predator catchers do more harm than good

    Lariat Letter: My pre-medical studies have shaped me into a better man

    It’s time to write more handwritten letters

    The end of the semester is just the beginning

    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Recent Posts
    • Baylor community unites in flash flood relief efforts July 9, 2025
    • Baylor rescinds LGBTQIA+ inclusion research grant after backlash July 9, 2025
    About

    The award-winning student newspaper of Baylor University since 1900.

    Articles, photos, and other works by staff of The Baylor Lariat are Copyright © Baylor® University. All rights reserved.

    Subscribe to the Morning Buzz

    Get the latest Lariat News by just Clicking Subscribe!

    Follow the Live Coverage
    Tweets by @bulariat

    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube LinkedIn
    • Featured
    • News
    • Sports
    • Opinion
    • Arts and Life
    © 2025 ThemeSphere. Designed by ThemeSphere.

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.