"thinking" vs. "planning"

The greatest skill I have is to think.  The way I attack academic projects has been vastly altered by learning the difference between "thinking" and "planning."  I am writing today to talk about the freedom of life that comes with thinking vs. the detriment that comes from excessive planning.

I, like many people, am in the midst of life change.  Mine is primarily career-focused, but yours may be career, family, geography, or something else.  We want to attain those goals we set before ourselves ... but our forward motion is so incrementally slow that it feels like no movement at all (or, worse, backtracking), and we become frustrated.

I posit that this lack of forward movement could be the result of resting on the existence of "planning," rather than "thinking."

To "plan" carries a connotation that you have some way to predict, perhaps even determine, the circumstances you will face in the future.  Before anyone thinks I am anti-plan, let me say, I love a good plan.  I like to make plans, talk about them, critique, change, execute, and scrap them.  But, speaking only for myself, I do not have the kind of foreknowledge it takes to "plan" for everything ... or anything larger than a finite event.  To mitigate this, I have gone through periods of endless planning:  coming up with innumerable if/then "plans," many of which were no good for the situations I actually faced.  The concept of the "5 or 10 year plan" is especially endearing.  I am okay with "long term goals," but to call that a plan is overreaching.  Planning is based on a skill set - organization, scheduling, and budgeting are all aspects of "planning."  And, let's face it, not everyone is good at these things.

On the other hand, to "think" can include input from all aspects of myself (emotions, feelings, beliefs, etc.).  The vast majority of thought life revolves around thinking through problems, issues, etc. for the purpose of understanding and appreciating the finer details, more than organizing them into a different construct.  Thinking requires a different set of skills than planning:  patience and honesty top among them.  The good news is that people were made to think - all of us were.

We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to have a "plan" before we do anything ... and because we lack (or think we lack) skills as "planners" we end up doing basically nothing.  Here is my challenge to you:  Think about those changes you want to make in your career, family, etc., then set about doing them.  I am not suggesting you attempt wild and odd activities for the sake of being active.  I am advocating for the idea that we can accomplish goals that are bigger than ourselves, and more important than we may ever know, simply by taking a step.  If your world doesn't fall apart after that one step, take another step.  Be thoughtful.  Engage with the world around you.  Don't borrow trouble, but take calculated risks when you need to ... And get out there, and DO.