The Career Planning Myth

​My wife and I were recently invited to go sailing with some friends. Let me be the first to say that this was my first time on a sailboat. I’ve run boats for years, but those boats were powered by motors, not sails. Sailing was a whole new experience for me.
As we sat on the bow of the boat, we were headed in a specific direction, aiming for a remote island. The weather was perfect, the company was good, and our course was set. But then, in the middle of our trip, the winds shifted. Suddenly, our plan had to change, and we ended up going to a completely different location. As I sat there, watching the sails adjust and the boat change course, I couldn’t help but think: isn’t this just like life? Isn’t this just like our careers?
I’m sure you, like me, have interviewed for different jobs, prepared yourself for new opportunities, and envisioned yourself in roles you were certain were the next step in your career. And yet, for some reason, things didn’t go as planned. Maybe you didn’t get the job. Maybe a company restructure altered your trajectory. It’s frustrating when the path you’ve carefully planned out suddenly changes. But perhaps that’s because the direction we were headed wasn’t where we were truly meant to go.
Remember, sailors have no control over the wind or the sea. They may have a destination in mind, just as you might have a goal for your career. But when the wind changes or the seas get rough, the direction changes as well. We adapt, we adjust the sails, and we continue the journey, sometimes to places we never expected.
There’s a powerful biblical story that resonates with this idea. Saul, a man who was climbing the leadership ladder within the Jewish community, was suddenly called by God to head in a completely different direction. He wasn’t just redirected; he was transformed into Paul, one of the most influential figures in Christian history. His journey wasn’t what he had planned, but it was the one he was meant to take.
Our careers and lives are much like sailing. We plan our course, set our sights on a destination, and move forward with determination. But we must remember that the wind—the circumstances, opportunities, and challenges we encounter—is not in our control. It’s in God’s hands. And as difficult as it may be to accept when things don’t go as planned, we must trust that there’s a better destination ahead, one that we might not have envisioned but is exactly where we’re meant to be.