When someone says “be spontaneous”, they really mean “change your plans at short notice to suit me”.
— Duncan Stephen (@Stepreo) March 17, 2012
I have been thinking a bit about spontaneity recently. For some reason, it is normally described as a good quality. I don’t understand why.
Maybe I am biased. I do like to plan things out in advance. If I am presented with new options, I need to consider them first before making a decision. Some of my friends think I need to loosen up a bit and “live life more on the edge”.
“Be spontaneous” is a request you see on dating websites a lot. To me it reads like these people are looking to be given lots of gifts or lots of trips. (Let’s face it, no-one is asking to be spontaneously treated badly.)
Speaking of dating websites, I took a look at what OkCupid thought of my personality in comparison to the average in the population. I was amused to see the result that I am ‘less spontaneous’ — to quite an extreme extent, too.
Is it so good to be spontaneous? Do I need to loosen up? Or am I right to be sceptical?