As someone who works in Social Media, I must say the word strategic in one form or another like, 5 billion times a day. It’s a great buzz word, really. Clients love hearing that there’s a planned, well thought-out method behind the process of reaching their target demographic (and rightfully so).
Lately I’ve been thinking about this whole idea of strategy, and how it’s something we all use in our lives more than we may even realize. Think about it - so many important aspects of life are characterized by some sort of careful plan or method.
Want to win the game? Here’s your strategy.
Want to get healthy? Here’s your step-by-step guide.
Want to land the job interview? Here’s exactly what to be prepared for.
Want to get the guy? Wear this, say that, and follow this 54 page manual of how to text him.
That last one was a joke. Everyone knows the manual is only 10 pages.
Don’t get me wrong - there’s obviously a time and a place for being strategic. I’m pretty sure most of our lives would be complete messes without basics plans and methods that help us get through the everyday. But I’ll be the first to admit that I’m totally guilty of being too strategic in certain areas of my life.
For example, I actually want to think less before I speak. I find myself caring so much about what other people think that I hold back what I actually want to say. Granted, that might make things a little awkward for both parties, but I honestly don’t care anymore. I’m sick of Communication 101 conversations with people - I want truth serum!
Speaking of Social Media, I kind of think it is one of the main causes of everyone being so damn strategic these days (funny how I’m always dissing the thing I make a living off of, haha, oops). But seriously - it’s like, everything we say or do ends up out there for all the world to see, so we have to be all sorts of careful with what we’re putting out there. Even with texting, we have this time we didn’t have before to think about what we’re going to say, how we’re going to say it, and how many minutes (or hours, or days) we strategically leave in between messages. Come on, well all do it 😛
I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of life being so perfectly mapped out all the time. So I’m going to do a little experiment of trying to be strategically unstrategic. No more plans, methods, or what some may call “games” to try to navigate myself to what I want.
Less thinking. More doing.
Less thinking. More saying.
Less thinking. More feeling.
Less thinking. More living.
And most importantly - more surrendering my plans to God, and taking on HIS strategy.
Anyone with me?
So funny you should write this, because it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately! Personal background story, but I was in one of those weird ‘half-relationships’ over the winter. While I liked him a lot, I was miserable most of the time, because I was trying so hard to make sure he liked me. I honestly lost myself a tiny bit (nothing too extreme, just a real lack of focus on my own goals and priorities), and after it ended, it took awhile to get back to ME. I wish I’d been less ‘strategic’, and just did what felt right and worked for me. Maybe things would have ended up the same way, but I would have been so much more proud of myself.
It’s so stupid how we treat relationships in this society. If you like someone, tell them. If you love someone, tell them. If you’re not sure whether or not you like someone, just make the goal of being the best friend possible to them, and you’ll soon figure out if you like them. Then, tell them. Why do we make this so hard? It’s not.
Anyways, great post!
Girl, I know exactly what you’re talking about. Like…exactly. Hindsight is always 20/20, so be thankful for what you’ve learned out of that relationship! Now you’ll remember to stay true to you + what you deserve next time around, and have the courage to say what needs to be said.
And yes - I couldn’t agree more about saying how you (we) feel. I wonder how much time is wasted just tip-toeing around those relationships/that conversation, haha.
Thanks for this comment! xo
i’m so with you!! i’ve been making an effort to care less about what other people think (which is SO hard with instagram and twitter and all the other stuff these days…), but more importantly i’m working on planning less and having more fun. with summer coming up, i’d really like to leave some time open to just enjoy the sunshine!
Yes, summer is definitely the perfect time to loosen up on the plans and enjoy life!
fretfulfulvlogger.blogspot.com
So glad i’m not the only strategically unstrategic person out there