When Things Don't Go According to Plan

A year-end reflection on divine timing, unexpected blessings, and the things that matter most

As we approach the end of this year, introspection naturally begins to creep into my thoughts. The question that weighs on me most is whether I did enough. Did I use this past year wisely, or did I waste my days focusing energy on things that ultimately don’t matter?

Here’s what you should know about me: I’m a late bloomer. But once I commit to something, I’m all in, completely, intensely, without reservation. This means that only in the last few years have I begun the practice of intentional planning, of mapping out the year ahead with clarity and purpose. Before that, I let things unfold naturally, trusting life to carry me where I needed to go. Sometimes this approach works beautifully. Sometimes, though, life takes you so far from your true purpose that without a map, without some kind of compass, finding your way back becomes nearly impossible.

When I say I’m all in, I mean that my year-end evaluation process has become deeply tied to my vision board, my personal map for what I want to build, experience, and become. At the end of each year, I measure myself against it. What did I achieve? What remains undone? Where did I grow? Where did I fall short?

The first lesson: Divine timing is real.

We can plan all we want. We can work tirelessly, strategize endlessly, give everything we have to a goal. But for some things in life, no matter how much effort we pour in, we will not see results until God, the Universe, or whatever force you believe guides us decides the time has come for that thing to be ours. A few years ago, this reality would have filled me with anger or deep sadness. Why wasn’t I enough? Why wasn’t my effort enough? But now, I feel only gratitude. I’m thankful that it was for my greatest good that certain wishes were granted only when I was truly ready to receive them, whether that’s a new job, a meaningful project, a child, or anything else my heart desired. The timing simply wasn’t right.

This understanding has changed how I approach my vision board. If something didn’t manifest this year but still feels important, it moves to next year’s board. Interesting thing is that sometimes, in the process of waiting and reflecting, I realize I never truly wanted that thing in the first place. I thought I should want it, or I wanted the idea of it, but the desire itself wasn’t real.

The second lesson: Obstacles are often blessings wearing disguises.

Sometimes the biggest obstacles in our lives turn out to be blessings we couldn’t recognize at the time. Sometimes we need to be hit by a wrecking ball, hit so hard that we have no choice but to stop, look around, and truly see our lives for what they are. Most of us move through life on autopilot. We don’t look around. We don’t question where we’re going or why. We don’t ask ourselves the hard questions: Is this relationship still right for me? Does this job still fit who I am? Am I even the same person I was two or three years ago?

The answer to that last question is almost certainly no. You’re not the same person. You’ve changed, evolved, grown, but you might not be consciously aware of it yet. Your life hasn’t caught up to who you’ve become. So these seemingly random events that appear to wreck everything we’ve built? They’re often just wake-up calls, redirecting us back toward our true path, toward alignment with who we actually are now.

The third lesson: People can change, but only if they want to.

Change is possible. Real, meaningful change. But it requires practice, so much practice that eventually your brain rewires itself and the new version of you becomes automatic. I believe we all have core traits that are part of our nature. Someone who naturally speaks quickly will probably always have that impulse, that energetic drive in their communication. That’s just who they are. But that same person can absolutely learn when to be quiet, when to simply listen, when to slow down and let space exist in a conversation.

Once we truly accept this possibility within ourselves, once we accept that there can be so many different versions of who we are, there’s nothing we cannot achieve in this life. We’re not trapped by our past patterns. We’re not limited by who we’ve always been. We can become someone new while still honoring our essential nature.

The fourth lesson: When you change, relationships reveal themselves.

Here’s something fascinating I’ve discovered: when you start changing, it feels like everyone around you is changing too. But that’s not what’s actually happening. They’re not changing at all, they will only change when they decide to, on their own timeline. What’s changing is their response to the new you.

For example when you start setting boundaries, some people won’t like it. They preferred you without a backbone, without limits, always available, always accommodating. Your communication with these people may break down entirely. They may fade from your life. But others, others will be thrilled by this new strength they see in you. They’ll respect you more. Your relationships with them will deepen and improve in ways you couldn’t have imagined.

Most of the time, all of these shifts, even the painful ones, even the relationships that end, are ultimately for your highest good. They’re making space for what’s meant for you.

The final lesson: Life mirrors your approach to it.

I’ve come to accept something profound: life will always reflect how you choose to approach it. If you decide to see life as an adventure, as an experience where you get to play on all levels, the easy ones and the challenging ones, where you meet all kinds of characters, some wonderful and some difficult, and you choose to focus on what’s fun, what’s enjoyable, what’s positive, then that’s exactly what your life will become.

But if you decide to focus primarily on the challenges, if you obsess over everything on your vision board that didn’t happen while completely ignoring what you actually did achieve, if you give your attention to people who drain your energy instead of those who uplift you, if you constantly expect the worst, then the worst will keep showing up. Not because the universe is punishing you, but because that’s where you’ve trained your focus.

So here’s where I stand at the end of this year.

Not everything on my vision board came to life, and I’m genuinely grateful for that. It means the timing wasn’t right, or those things simply weren’t meant for me. For the things that did manifest, I’m truly proud, especially because they serve as tangible reminders that I can achieve remarkable things when I fully commit my mind and energy to them.

What matters the most to me is that everything I did achieve this year moved me closer to my higher self, closer to my life’s purpose, closer to what genuinely makes me happy. And that means this year was not wasted. Not even close. It was another essential step in the grand unfolding of my life.

This was a year full of travel, full of fun and laughter, full of growth, even when growth hurt, even when challenges hit me hard and kept coming. I lived through it all. I learned from it all. And for that, for all of it, I am deeply grateful.

Yours,

Diana