If It's to Be

CEBU, Philippines - It's been a very troubled year. And as we now approach its end, we hope that the troubles end too. We wish that life is going to get better for us in the coming year.

We have various rituals and superstitions in our observance of the New Year. While there is hardly any hard proof to attest to the merit of this custom, we faithfully try to comply with it - just in case it works. It's a little price to pay, we say, for all the good things that it supposedly will bring.  

The thinkers among us also have the habit of making a yearly game plan, to take effect right at the beginning of the year. They believe that the surest way to accomplish whatever we want in a year's time is to plan about it. Having a plan, they assert, also helps in avoiding risks, even in averting misfortunes. 

But some people are not quite comfortable planning their year, saying it takes away the spontaneity - hence, the excitement - of their days. But they admit having done it once, at least. In fact, making a yearly plan is something most people are quite familiar with, whether as a class assignment back in school or as something they did out of their own will.

At one time or another, we all have done a New Year's Resolution. At the close of a year, we look back and try to figure out what didn't go right in our lives or what could be improved in ourselves. It's like drawing our own roadmap for the journey towards personal excellence.

A New Year's Resolution or a yearly personal plan is an effort to clear our lives of the things that we think are hindering us from attaining success and happiness. A year is an ideal chunk of time to plan for than, say, a whole lifetime. A year is neither too long nor too short a period for making adjustments or enhancements along the way.  

A professional life coach tells me that making a yearly personal plan is a good practice. "Life is an important journey," he explains. "We need to thoughtfully consider and plan how we go about it. It is rather hard to get anywhere in life without first deciding where we want to go and how to get there."

Some people rehash the same yearly personal plan over and over that it looks like the only improvement attained year after year is in terms of their age. They give their best efforts in making the perfect plan, writing it down, making sure it's perfect in every sense: the wording, the grammar, everything. Then they slacken - thinking they have done enough.

A plan is not enough, according to the life coach. No matter how powerful the words or how masterful the composition, it amounts to nothing if it does not move the person into action. A plan is only a seed; for it to bear fruit, it has first to grow into a tree.

Honestly, I am a lousy planner. In fact, it's been my continuing effort to become better at planning my activities, my days, my life. And I easily get frustrated when my plan gets bungled, even just part of it, which attitude has been my big challenge to change.

The plan I keep is a simple "To Do" list. I scribble short notes in my pocket organizer and save reminders on my mobile phone. The sketchy entries are mostly important appointments, commitments, assignments, special occasions and deadlines, which I dutifully make time for or abide by.

My free time I devote for myself - for self-improvement, for leisure, for personal relationships. I read, tend to my plants, play with my pets, watch a movie, go around, call friends, talk to a stranger. I also make time for good, peaceful rest.

Most of all, I soul search regularly, and seek God's loving protection and guidance. I always try not to lose sight of what I need to do and to be, to attain happiness and fulfillment. While I may not be very systematic about planning my life, I always keep in mind the principle: "If  it's to be, it's up to me."

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