noun: a set of decisions about how to do something in the future; a drawing from which something is made or built; verb: to think about and decide what you are going to do or how you are going to do something; to intend to do something or that an event or result should happen
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Plans are funny things. Some people can’t cope without a plan, a plan B, a plan C, and a subsequent set of plans A through C (and possibly D!) for each potential outcome of each original plan. Others prefer to keep planning to a minimum in favour of spontaneity…
Whichever side of the fence you’re on, forward planning at some level is essential to achieving goals. Even the expression “you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs” can be used as an example of planning. You plan to make an omelette. In order to accomplish this, you are going to crack some eggs. That’s a plan, plain and simple. It is a simple plan, and a short one: simple and short enough that it could be reached and put into place spontaneously, without any significant conscious thought.
They say that “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry” and, as with most of these sayings, there’s an element of truth to it. But how much of that truth is that we’re only aware of failure and take success for granted? Let’s go back to our omelette for a moment, before it burns. Have you ever stopped to congratulate yourself on how well your cunning plan went after you cracked those eggs without even dropping eggshell in the bowl? Me neither. But when I do drop eggshell in it? Well, that didn’t go according to plan!
Awareness affects everything. We notice when our plans fail, because we expect them to succeed. It’s a foregone conclusion. We’ve seen it happen, we’ve seen how it’s going to happen, and lo and behold! It happens. Of course, there will inevitably be times when plans do go awry, so it makes sense to have a plan B, doesn’t it? I’m sure that countless military strategists wouldn’t be able to overstate the benefits of having provisions in place for changing circumstances, nor could they count the lives saved due to the precious seconds spared by being in front of the game…
However, I have found two problems worth mentioning regarding excessive forward planning. The first seems obvious (at least to me): overthinking. When we plan, then plan for what could go wrong, then for what could come after every scenario, we end up clogging our brains so much that we miss the obvious and none of the plans work. Or, we spend so long forming plans that we miss our window to take action and reduce the whole exercise to a complete waste of time!
The second problem is perhaps a little less obvious, but no less relevant. If you see a need for a plan B, you have to see your original plan failing. There’s no question that seeing only a positive outcome is significantly more likely to yield a positive result than entertaining other possibilities. We may never know whether this is due to the impact this outlook has on our behaviour or some sort of cosmic pull, only that it is the purview of the subconscious mind, but the result is irrefutable either way. Actually, I’m being rather presumptuous there. Maybe you do know. I apologise for assuming, however briefly, that your ignorance must match my own…
I shall leave you now to whatever delights you have planned beyond reading this blog and avoiding thinking too much.
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