All my life I had rigid expectations for what my future would be. I had mapped out every detail.  What grades I would get, the extracurriculars I would participate in, what college I would go to, what I would major in, even what job I would one day get.

At the time I thought planning meant I was prepared, but I’ve realized that it actually made me less adaptable. It left me unable to prepare back ups or create a safety net in case of failure.

I thought that I could plan every detail with a few predictions, but many goals were unrealistic and my overplanning locked me into expectations that did not match reality. The Planning Fallacy is a psychologically proven phenomenon where people underestimate the time and effort it will take to complete a future task, according to ScienceDirect, an online media outlet for science breakthroughs and studies. We develop a high degree of confidence and certainty in predictions that are built on the unstable ground of optimism. We choose to ignore real obstacles and observe each prediction as more of a soon to be reality. This makes the plan we have in mind for our future fragile.

Our  “5 year plans” are overly rigid structures that can easily backfire with faced with the ever-changing external influences of the economy, society, and social dynamics. As you focus more on your singular goals, you also limit performance and collaboration with others, according to PsychologyToday. My constant overplanning for my future turned out to be pointless. Nothing I used to predict would happen actually did. My mind was focused solely on the outcome of my goals and proceeded to prioritize those over other activities, events, people, and work that held just as much importance. Each goal I set has been reset and changed hundreds of times over.

Psychology has also proven a link between excessive goal setting and higher stress levels, according to the Cambridge University Press. When goals are not met it affects our anxiety and well being, and with our lives mapped out unrealistically that is bound to happen. Excessive future focused thinking is also associated with higher levels of Generalized Anxiety Disorder symptoms, according to Cambridge University Press. Every time I tried to create a perfect future I was actually setting myself up for failure. 

Overplanning is built on flawed expectations and overly confident beliefs. Planning the future gives us control, but that future is never set in stone. The future rarely follows a plan, so maybe our plan should be to embrace what comes and learn to adapt.