I hate being interrupted.
I regularly find myself frustrated at traffic lights—especially when I’m stopped at a red light, and I can clearly see there is no traffic coming the other way. In those moments, interruption feels pointless, inefficient, and personal.
Recently, I had a conversation with a man who is experiencing a much bigger interruption than a traffic delay. He is currently unemployed after many years of fulfilling, meaningful work. Late-career unemployment can feel like a brutal disruption and deeply unsettling.
Yet I came away from our conversation impressed by his attitude and perspective. Instead of bitterness or panic, he spoke with humility and openness about what might come next.
That conversation got me thinking about how interruptions in life—while frustrating and often painful—can also be a powerful force for growth, creativity, and meaning, if we’re able to move past the initial frustration and disillusionment.
In today’s blog, we’ll explore several considerations that can help us navigate and reap the potential benefits of interruptions, and how our financial plans can help us navigate them.
5 Things Interruptions Can Teach Us
Here are some things to consider when you’re faced with an interruption and tempted to spiral into a rage of frustration.
1. Interruptions could wake us up.
Much of life runs on autopilot.
We follow routines, habits, and assumptions without questioning whether they still serve us. An interruption breaks that trance. It forces us to pause and notice. We may not like the pause, but it creates awareness—and awareness is often the first step toward change.
2. Interruptions could help us see what really matters.
When something interrupts our plans, it reveals our priorities.
What are we afraid of losing? What feels suddenly urgent?
A health scare can reframe success. A job loss can expose how tightly our identity is tied to productivity. Interruptions act like mirrors, reflecting back what we truly value.
3. Interruptions could invite us to a new level of creativity.
When the familiar path is blocked, we’re forced to imagine alternatives.
Creativity often emerges not from uninterrupted flow, but from disruption. New ideas, new directions, and new possibilities can surface precisely because the old way is no longer available.
4. Interruptions could teach us humility and presence.
Interruptions remind us that we are not fully in control.
That can be uncomfortable—but it can also be grounding. They invite us to respond rather than react, to be present rather than force outcomes. There is wisdom in learning to work with reality instead of against it.
5. Interruptions could be redirecting us to a better place.
What feels like a setback may actually be a pivot.
Many meaningful paths begin with a door closing. In hindsight, interruptions often reveal themselves not as detours, but as redirections toward something more aligned, sustainable, or true.
The Takeaway
Not every interruption is meaningful—but every interruption carries information.
The question is not how to avoid them, but whether we’re willing to listen. In life, interruptions often show up as uncertainty, loss, or unexpected change. In our financial lives, they can take the form of a job transition, an early retirement decision, a market downturn, or a shift in priorities we didn’t see coming.
How Your Financial Plan Helps
At their best, financial plans aren’t designed to eliminate interruption—they’re designed to help us respond to it well. A thoughtful plan creates space for choice, flexibility, and confidence when life doesn’t unfold according to schedule.
It allows interruptions to become moments of clarity rather than moments of panic.
If you’re experiencing an interruption—financial or otherwise—it may be an invitation to pause, reassess, and realign. That’s where good planning begins.
The team at Master’s would love to walk alongside you, help you make sense of what’s changing, and ensure your financial decisions continue to support what matters most to you.
If life has interrupted your plans, maybe it’s time to revisit the plan itself. Let’s start that conversation.
