When I was growing up, I thought the key to a happy life was to have a plan. A plan for absolutely every little thing. A detailed, carefully thought-out plan for career, relationships and everything in between. I had mile-long to do lists and carefully detailed goals in my planners, and I executed them religiously.

Here’s how I thought my life was going to be: I would study at the University, graduate with top marks, get a scholarship for a masters abroad, get a fantastic job, and eventually meet and marry the love of my life, have a child or two, and travel extensively (for fun and for work).

Just to give you an idea of how much I planned, listen to this: I started researching Masters Degrees at 18, as soon as I started University. Why? I wanted to know the requisites set by my favorite Universities, to shape my education to what they wanted. When everyone else was thinking about boyfriends, and parties, and having fun, I was studying a little bit more, signing up for another research programme, or becoming teaching assistant for another subject.

My earlier years had been full of instability, and I had created a system of rules, goals and plans as a reaction to them. I thought- and here’s where I went wrong- that my well being, my happiness, my security depended on achieving those goals, fulfilling those plans, checking the ticks that signaled the completion of the millions of tasks I had set out to accomplish.

In reality, I became the prisoner of my own plans.

It worked when I was an employed lawyer.  It failed miserably when the time came to make the switch to entrepreneurship.

This is what we talk about, with Marbel, in the two latest episodes of Cult of Hybrid.

The long road to accepting our gifts and talents, the many mistakes we made in the first years in business, and how we got to where we now are. And how we found a way to plan our businesses and our lives, that was mindful of the way we want to live and takes into consideration our natural rhythms.

As we get close to the New Year, and we all start to plan the year ahead, let us be mindful of the life we want to live, and how we want to feel every single day.

Click on the buttons below to listen to the podcast, in iTunes, or the blog, as you prefer. And, when you’re done, come back and share in the comments:

How do you plan your years? Has your way of planning changed over the years? Do you have any favorite resources that you’d like to share?