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So What's the Plan?
Bet you never heard that one before. Ha! I hear it all time and say it myself often, and yet when it comes to a personal plan for success, I'm betting some of us would probably say that we don't have a real plan.
But hold on just a minute. We may not have concrete plans for all that we do, but I'm willing to bet that each of us has some sort of plan of action in our heads that is a direct correlation to where you're at now. Think about it for a moment. Some of us had a plan to log on here and either read or write an article. Hundreds of thousands of us have a plan to get up and go to work. We had or have a plan to drive and purchase an automobile or some form of transportation. We have a plan to rent or own real estate. We plan to buy groceries,plan to eat,plan to socialize,plan a party. Wow, we plan everything when you get right down to it and break down events of the day.
Plan Everything? Not so fast.
It's been said "We fail to plan and plan to fail".I don't know about you, but I cannot think of a single time that I demised a plan to fail at the beginning of an undertaking I had just started. That's not to say that a plan didn't get finished or it was shelved or changed direction. But not plan to fail.
We plan ahead, too far ahead, not far enough ahead, plan tommorrow,plan this afternoon.I make plans that never materialize. I follow plans I don't like. I don't plan on misery, but it happens. I have no real plan for peace or happiness, but I have that too at times.
I have yet to meet any one who plans to ruin your day. But it happens unfortunatly.
Why Make a Plan?
I've never been one to write down a plan of action. In other words, Im not conditioned to write goals down on paper. It's easy to see that when I get off track, I don't have any guide lines to go by and get back to the basics. So, plans never materialize. They just stay dormant in my head. Now I can follow plans very well, if I can keep interested. I can build and finnish a project that someone else planned.
So what's the problem? Procrastination? Fear of failure? Fear of rejection? Sounds like life to me.
There are a lot of broken promises, broken dreams, even broken hearts. But if you look around, there's a lot more kept promises, dreams that come true, and hearts that are strong and fulfilled all because someone stuck to the plan. So, what's your plan?
Funny I worked in strategy and planning in a large organisation for a long time. I do think a plan is important in business and in life. But think the trick is not to be scheduled to death and miss life in the process. Plan but leave some time to live in the moment as well
I don't make a plan it was very hard for me.....to myself I do important things first. Thanks, Dave, Nice article!
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Thank you. It's a learning curve. Practice,practice, practice. Then hopefully it becomes a good habit.
Nice topic. Good article. Dave, all your suggestions seem sound for the problem. Maybe fear of writing down results you dream of is part of why many people don't write goals down. Writing something down makes it feel real.
Plans are good if you can stick to them problem is most don't and they get stretched out a few days, weeks, months...etc. Nice article.
Thanks. I'm as guilty as anyone for not sticking to plan. Especialy my own.
Thought provoking article Dave. I'm not good with strict plans either. A very flexible plan works for me. I have a blueprint in my head, but it takes many turns. That's probably true of most people. WA has been encouraging people to write down their goals and the steps needed to reach them, and do something toward them every day. That much I've managed in a mechanical sense only. I'm pretty disciplined, though it's hard to do everything one packs into a daily list. Maybe that is over planning. Appetite bigger than the stomach syndrome. Like to keep it free wheeling and open to change. Change my mind often. You're right about us planning things all the time and taking it for granted. The big goals keep you going forward, but even they are subject to change. I guess life is a journey in which we reach goals or not. We have both the joys and the heartbreaks. Hopefully, not too many heartbreaks.
Thank you. Since becoming a member of WA, I see clearly I need to stick to a proven plan to continue my journy here. Using a daily planner is helping a bunch.
My plan is to keep on not planning... I start something and try to see it through... I follow plans laid out for me in normal daily living, but everything else I do not plan, I hate to have to stay on a prescribed path, I want to change my mind and gear as I go along... Is this wrong? I don't know, but it has made me fail and has brought me success so how do I decide whether to plan or not.. A great thought provoking article Dave... Too plan or not too plan that is the question... Shakespeare might have had a field day with this one... I find if I plan an article I cannot finish it as the mind wonders as I go along.. My books follow the same procedure, no plan just write, and on an edit one can swap chapters around to improve the flow... I actually hate plans, and cannot even plan a holiday, I will decide with the wife on a destination but when we leave or how long it takes to get there is anyone's guess, and once there what we do is what ever we feel like at the time, not a great planner as you can see, yet I get things done...
I built a detatched garage some four years ago. Never thought I'd see it finnished. It took a year to complete as I did all the work my self. That will be the only building I ever build. Living in the moment is a way of life for myself and many others. My wife has been trying to keep me close to ground level for over twenty five years. You would think she'd get tired by now. She keeps trying. Bless her heart! Thanks for your thoughts on this.
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