There is No Plan B

Hello loves,

For those of you who follow Amanda Palmer on twitter (@amandapalmer), you are probably aware of the arguments that come up, and can sometimes circulate the internet, even for days. The topic this past week was on the idea of following your original dream; what you've aspired to be in your visions of your future self. This concept was put into terms most would deem realistic, though it can often lead to settling for less: A Plan B.

However, to define Plan B, we must first define Plan A.

When you're small, usually around the age of five or six, someone (a teacher, parent, legal guardian, etc.) usually asks, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Back then, you might have said a whole slew of things: an astronaut, a rock star, a doctor... You might like that job through much of your childhood, playing doctor to your dolls, putting on a show at the next family reunion to your parent's copy of Duran Duran's Notorious, or crafting space ships out of cardboard boxes in the backyard. You might like this ideal when you get a little older, possibly even looking into space camps and singing lessons when you're ten, eleven, twelve.... You might draw pictures of it, print out giant posters of famous practitioners, band heads, and the galaxy. This is not necessarily Plan A.

You might get to high school and realize you're grossed out by blood, and pass out at the sight, but find an interest in medical prognosis or psychiatry. You might not be able to hold a tune, but you're very good at guitar, and think about teaching it to your little brother. You might not be medically strong, and in that, might be unable to go into space, but you would like to at least work for NASA, because you're very good at science and astronomy. This is not necessarily Plan B.

Plan A, in a nutshell, can be anything you dream, even if your dreams carry over from when you're a small child. If you dream and aspire to be it, and want to work for it, that's your Plan A.

Plan B is sometimes what you settle for in the meantime, whether it's to make money to feed yourself, or your family, or because you're afraid of failure.

I was very much raised on the idea "Do what you love, pursue it, and success will follow", and I wholeheartedly believe in it. There is no reason you should be afraid of failure, because if it's something you truly love and are passionate about, you will not fail. True, you may stumble, or other things might strike your interest in the meantime, but that doesn't mean you can't make your dreams come true. It is possible for everyone to follow their ideals and find a favorable outcome. And it's true that your Plan A may change over time, once you have a family, or once you're comfortable where you are, but that doesn't mean that the dream shall wither away. The little girl that dreamed to be a rock star might start a business, try to find and guide young talent at local open mic nights. The space captain of his backyard, the astronaut might want to give lectures on Jupiter's moons at the University of Dartmouth. The doctor, tired of late night shifts, might move to a private practice and give physicals to young kids. This does not mean they're settling, because they're still following their dreams in a different way, in a way that may suit their needs and desires at the moment. It is not shifting from rock star to accountant, but from vivacious lover to pleasant commitment.

And subduing your dreams, in that way, might not be for everyone: many disagree that it's settling for less, and there's no denying that if that's what your heart requires/desires. It's all simply a mixture of timing and what your body and mind need to continue to function in sync, in unison with your emotions and daily routine.

Simply: There is no Plan B. Not really.

So today, or tomorrow, or even in the following weeks of summer that lay ahead, think to yourself: what do I want to do? What's my "Plan A"? Food for thought.

-MLB