“I thought I saw my future, but it turns out that the crystal ball was cracked.”

– Katie Pruitt, Phases of the Moon

A few months ago, I wrote an article called The year of opportunity. In the article, I described one of my greatest problems. I’m always thinking about the future. I’m always thinking about ‘what’s next?’.

In many ways, this is an asset.

In anything that we do in life, we must be able to pivot. To change course. To recognize when the twisty maze of life might be coming to a dead end.

We all want the future we imagine. It would be nice if the future turned out that way. But it won’t. Life in some way or another, will never go to plan.

Truthfully, it’s a depressing message. Katie Pruitt says it super depressingly when she says – “What if prayers are wishes that never come true?”.

But that doesn’t mean we should stop dreaming of the future. That we should stop chasing our greatest goals and ambitions in life. It doesn’t mean that we should live perpetually in the present with no distraction of what might be.

To an extent, that’s a smart way of operating. Then nothing could ever disappoint. Then our focus remains abundantly clear. Because there’s nothing else that matters other than now. Nothing else other than what’s directly in front of us in each and every moment.

But having hopes and dreams for the future is tremendously valuable, especially in determining where you are and what you’re doing in the now.

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We need to have a direction for which our lives might go, so that our hopes, dreams and ambitions for the future can propel us in the present moment. Even if we know we’ll be happy with wherever the wind takes us.

We shouldn’t stop dreaming. We just need to be prepared for the realities of any situation. Because sometimes, the crystal ball is cracked.

I have a famous saying in the world of Recreation. A question I ask any potential new hire. “When it comes to recreation, it’s almost as though nothing ever goes as planned! Tell us about a time when your plans did not go the way you intended, and how you adapted in the moment?”

Adaptability is probably one of the most essential traits a leader could have, especially when working in the world of recreation. All the moving parts are constantly moving. Constantly working in ways you could never imagine in your wildest dreams.

I’ve been in the Rec world for over a decade, and something I’ve never experienced still happens every single day. If we’re not able to adapt to the newness, we’re going to flounder underneath the surface of uncertainty. We’re going to wallow in our despair, and fail to function so much so that we curl up into a ball and parish.

Adaptability. It’s a trait that we not only need to have as leaders, but within the playbook of our everyday lives. For whatever reason, life constantly throws us curve balls. As Katie Pruitt says oh so wondrously, “Saturn she is stubborn.”

We’re constantly being tested. We’re constantly having to adapt on the fly based on new information, new circumstances, and the craziest of decisions that others make. That can so easily unravel us. That can so easily tear us apart.

We have to be ready for all of that. We have to be ready to find balance within the imbalances.

In anything that I do, or any phase of my life, I like to have several different plans. Several different goals. Ambitions. Paths.

When I raced Gorge Waterfalls 50K in Oregon, my plan of featuring on the podium failed to come to fruition. I changed course throughout the day to readjust my target, ensuring that I could curb my disappointment and be happy with whatever result came my way.

It might not have been the day that I wanted, but I ultimately still hit my target. Only thing – the target that came to life ended up being Plan D, rather than A or B, or even C. In the end, that’s okay. Life moves on.

Having A, B, C goals is great. We can even take that one step further. We can mentally prepare for the worst.

For many reasons.

1. If we’re prepared for the worst thing to happen, it might not feel as terrible if/when the worst thing ultimately happens.
2. If we’re prepared for the worst thing to happen, we can usually come up with strategies to ensure that thing never actually happens.
3. If we’re prepared for the worst thing to happen, other bad things won’t feel quite as bad if they happen instead.

This does not mean that we need to spend hours hypothesizing over all the worst case scenarios to every situation. But it does mean that we should always be prepared for the inevitable. Things change. People change. It all changes, as Katie Pruitt says, like the ‘phases of the moon.’

Even if we might expect a full moon to happen, it might not. Or it might happen for a brief moment in time, and then fade away. We can never be certain of the certainties in life. We can never fully predict the predictabilities either. Sometimes, the uncertainty and unpredictability is where the true magic in life truly lies.

That’s where we can come up with several different plans. That’s where we can change course. Where we can pivot when things don’t go our way.

It’s tremendously important to have ambitions. But you can’t have one lone ambition that you’re chasing. If there’s only one thing that matters to you and any other path for the future would be a failure, you’re missing the bigger picture. That’s why I always talk about my ‘Core Four Theory’. You can have up to four things in your life worth your time and attention at any given phase. In doing so, you always have something to fall back on. In doing so, you know where your true priorities lie. In doing so, you can always have something to enjoy, even when something else tears you apart.

In doing so, we can also better set ourselves up to be resilient in the face of “failure” if our prayers and wishes never come true. So long as we think about all the variables, and actively plan for what we might do in each case. You don’t need to know the ending. You just need the courage to turn pages.

“Every time the fire dies. Something new comes to replace it.”

– Katie Pruitt, Phases of the Moon

Always remember, as much as we may want to plan our futures in their entirety, that path, in some form or another, won’t go to plan. Things evolve. Your wishes, desires and ambitions will too. Sometimes, that future that you imagined not only won’t go to plan, but actively destroy you. Don’t let it.

The crystal ball might be cracked, but you don’t have to be. Life will inevitably change all over again, just like the phases of the moon.

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Katie Pruitt’s Phases of the Moon inspired this article. It’s an absolute banger. Thanks for reading and see you soon.