Yes, I do understand that planning ahead is a necessary evil, but it's not the most accurate or reliable way to live one's life. The advantage to planning ahead is that it gives one purpose. With the right amount of planning ahead, you can convince yourself that you have laid the foundation for the success of whatever event you have in mind. This creates a comfort zone in which the planner can happily live, that is until the plans are changed from without.
The trick to planning ahead is in realizing that all things can, and will, change without forewarning. One cannot plan for the changes since any prediction about what they may be will likely be inaccurate. I have often seen otherwise calm and rational people totally lose it in the unraveling of their anticipated future. I am a victim of this as much as anyone else (although the rational part of this equation has sometimes been brought into question). My wife is less subject than I to the syndrome, which seems to rear its ugly head most often in driving situations. She spends drive time which would otherwise be consumed in the pages of a good mystery trying to calm nerves frayed by a wrong turn or too much stop and go traffic.
But - recently, I have tried to be more amenable to the "make lemonade with life's lemons" theory. Sometimes it's difficult to create opportunity out of unexpected change, but this often can be done. It is all in my flexibility, expectations, and ability to avoid trying to manage the outcome. Knowing things rarely happen exactly as intended regardless of the plans I make is a good start. In other words, plan for change. And, don't presume to predict what that change may be; just know that its going to happen when least expected.
Right now, I plan to replace the worn out strings on my guitar and practice a few tunes.
No comments:
Post a Comment