WHY YOU DON'T NEED A PLAN
You need to return to your center.
Welcome to Issue #034 of Sojourn. Each week, I share two original essays to help you slow down, reconnect, and rebuild with intention — in a private community that uses travel as a path to reinvention.
I used to chase plans the way some people chase certainty.
If I could just map the next quarter, the next client, the next version of myself, maybe I’d finally feel like I had control.
But the more I planned, the more I felt like I was fading.
I looked organized on paper.
Inside, I felt scattered.
This clicked for me during a trip years ago.
I arrived at a mountain hotel after a long stretch of trying to ‘figure things out.’
I remember putting my bag down, standing in a room that smelled like cedar, and realizing that for the first time in months, nothing in me felt aligned.
Not one thing.
But then something unexpected happened:
I didn’t fix it by thinking harder.
I fixed it by getting quiet.
It was the stillness that brought me back to the center.
Not the strategy.
And when my body settled, the truth came out:
I didn’t need a plan.
I needed a baseline.
A place inside myself that wasn’t overstimulated.
A place where I wasn’t performing for an ‘invisible audience.’
A place where I could feel my actual direction again.
That’s why mountains work.
Why winter mornings work.
Why certain hotels make you ‘exhale’ the moment you step inside.
Why I write about them so often…
Your body knows before your mind catches up.
And from that place… that grounded, coherent place, the right next step becomes obvious.
Not forced.
Not dramatic.
Just honest.
Here’s what I practice now when I feel overwhelmed:
If I can’t breathe deeply, I wait.
If I feel urgency, I assume I’m disconnected.
If a decision still feels right after silence, it’s real.
This is also why intentional hospitality matters to me.
A room designed with care can help you reset without saying a word.
It brings you back into yourself, and from there, your life starts making sense again.
You don’t need a bigger plan this week.
You need a quieter center.
Come back home to yourself.
Your next step is waiting there.
~Ana