Hold Your Purpose Tightly, Hold Your Plans Lightly

The sun is setting on my second full day in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. I'm here for two months scouting out properties to purchase and develop our holistic wellness retreat center.

As I sit on the beach, watching the sunset and hearing the sound of gentle, rolling waves, I'm reminded of India. This past December, as part of my 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training, I had an intensive 10-day study of the Bhagavad Gita with Chaitanya Charan Das, one of the world's leading experts.

The very first lesson he shared was to:

Hold your Purpose Tightly, and Hold Your Plans Lightly.

Life is filled with setbacks, disappointments, and challenges. Accomplishing anything of value takes extreme commitment and perseverance, and we must hold on to our vision and purpose tightly. 

But in order to navigate all of life's ups and downs, it's important not to get too attached to any particular path. We must hold our plans lightly.

Water always flows to the sea, but along the way it changes form, collects, erodes, and follows the path of least resistance. It is flexible in how it reaches its destination. It takes wisdom and experience to embody that, to know with conviction that you will be successful, that you will accomplish what you set out to, while also allowing space for life to provide in ways you might not expect.

We often clings to how things are "supposed to" happen. The career path that isn't quite in alignment but is what society says leads to success. The mediocre relationship that seems better than being alone. The opportunity in a foreign land that requires you to leave the comforts of home.

Life-altering moments and decisions often aren't part of our original plans. If we're unwilling to let go of how we think things ought to be, we don't allow space for life to give us what we ask for, and more.

As for me, there's no way I could've planned this journey. As a 19 year old I worked for Michigan Football, on the sidelines of the Big House in front of 110,000 fans. My first real job out of college was working for USA Track and Field, traveling around the world helping athletes win Olympic medals and break records. I worked for the Los Angeles Lakers despite not having any professional basketball experience, and I received a ring from their NBA Championship win. I lived in Greece for 2.5 years and I'm exploring opportunities to move to the Dominican Republic. All the relationships that have come and gone in my life. This nonprofit venture (The Live Happii Project) and all its possibilities.

All of it has worked out so much bigger, better, and faster than whatever my plans were at the time. But its required leaps of faith and letting go of my expectations. 

I'm certain of my convictions and my purpose... to help people heal, learn, and grow... but whatever form that takes is liable to change at any time as new opportunities rise and fall away. That's the lesson it's taken me a lifetime to learn. Everything is ALWAYS working out for me, but it might not come in the way that I expect.

If you find yourself at a roadblock, feeling stuck, or having to bounce back from repeated failures, take a step back. Take a few deep breaths, maybe go for a walk in Nature, and then decide:

Is this a situation that calls for me to hold tightly to my vision? To persist, persevere, and double down on my commitment?

Or is this a moment when I need to be flexible, to let go, and allow life to change my plans as an invitation to something even bigger and better than I'm envisioning?