OPINION: Your backup plans are sabotaging you

Editor's note: All opinions, columns and letters reflect the views of the individual writer and not necessarily those of the IDS or its staffers.

Most adults you know have many regrets. They didn’t take that trip. They didn’t apply for that job. They didn’t move to that city. When a challenge came into frame along the road to their dreams, they didn’t take that risk that could have transformed their life. 

I’ve always planned out everything. My backup plans had backup plans. I thought it was strategic, realistic and smart – avoiding regrets and preparing for the worst. That was until I interviewed IU alumna Sandra Eisert. Creativity, confidence and persistence were the only tools she needed to remove the training wheels that “plan B’s” are and make her dreams happen. 

This fall, as I set up informational interviews with IU alumni to help prepare myself for graduation, I found Sandra Eisert and her impressive resume on LinkedIn: first White House Picture Editor, Senior Editor and Director of Graphics at MSNBC Interactive, editor of over 100 books and contributor to highly esteemed newspapers.  

She was the last person I expected a response from, but a few hours after I sent an email, she eagerly agreed to meet. A week later, we sat down for a three-hour conversation about how she made her way from IU to where she is now. 

Born and raised in Washington County, Indiana, Eisert said she originally picked IU over her Purdue-alumnus father’s wishes so she could be around trees and study mathematics. She had no idea this decision would lead her to become a journalist. During honors seminars over the summer, she added “Introduction to mass communications” because she had edited her high school yearbook. Everything changed when the professor told her she should pursue writing — a foreign concept for women in the 1960s where the only options were teaching or nursing.  

“If it weren't for a couple of professors at IU, I would be teaching math and miserable,” Eisert said. 

When Eisert joined the Indiana Daily Student, she told me about how her lack of experience and gender intimidated her, until her first photography class ignited her passion. Her artistic vision and talent for visual storytelling outpaced all of her male peers, and she quickly became the IDS’s photo editor and was even invited to teach photography classes. 

As I listened to Eisert's story, taking notes and soaking in every detail that led to her triumphs, her mindset was the determining factor that bridged every gap to her successes. While interning at National Geographic the summer before her senior year, her father recommended she still pursue a teaching degree as a backup plan.  

“If I had another out, I would've settled,” she said.  

Eisert told him that she didn’t want something to fall back on.  This certainty in herself is what set her apart from others.  

Before graduating, Eisert wrote dozens of letters to editors, newspapers, and journalists, asking to connect, shadow or intern. When she visited a paper ranked third in the nation, she began soliciting advice to the editors, to which they responded with a job offer. Every job she’s got from that point forward came from the network she built, the relationships she maintained, and her work ethic.   

“The more people you know, the more options you have,” Eisert said.  

Being one of the first women in a primarily male-dominated industry, Eisert needed to take herself seriously, knowing not everyone would. People recognized how she carried herself with confidence, professionalism and diligence. Even when employers ignored her ideas, she kept working toward her goals.  

“I believe in potential so much because of how many people doubted mine,” she said.  

She used opposition as motivation, not to prove others wrong, but to prove to herself that she could. 

Eisert didn’t jump at offers because they looked glamorous but listened to her gut. When she didn’t feel valued, she moved to the next job, even if that meant no job, trusting it would all work out.  

“Be true to yourself. That’s who you’ll be with the rest of your life,” she said to me near the end of our conversation. “This is a journey. You don’t know where it’s gonna go.” 

IU Media School Professor Edward Castronova offered a similar lesson. He went to school for economics, pushing himself to be a well-known scholar of poverty. He didn’t love what he was doing until he was 38, and didn’t even like economics. 

Castronova told me when he stopped caring about being famous, started playing video games and began writing economics papers about them, his career took off. Since then, every job he has had has come from peer recommendations, work ethic, honing his specialization and pursuing his passion. 

Reflecting on these conversations, I see my own choices. I picked my major — journalism — based on my love for writing and speaking my truth but chose public relations as my concentration for a safety net. I regret trading in developing my voice for learning how to mimic someone else’s. I spent so much time focusing on what I could do if things didn’t go to plan instead of making them happen for myself. 

Whether you’re still figuring out what you want or know exactly what you’re meant to do, go for it. One of the biggest risks might be never taking that risk. Eventually, your safety net can trap you inside an illusion of comfort that will never feel right. 

The only backup plan you should have is believing that you can make something happen if it’s truly what you want to do with your life. Spend all of your energy and time on making that dream come true so that success is your only option. Don’t leave yourself any room to even plan for what could go wrong. What if it all goes right?