So, What’s Your Plan?
Supreme Allied Commander and then later President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969), remarked that “plans are worthless, but planning is everything.” Known for his planning prowess for Operation Overlord (the Allied invasion of France during World War II), the statement appears contradictory, and begs the question: if plans are worthless, then why bother to plan at all?
Although few of us, if any of us, will ever plan a mass invasion encompassing some two million soldiers, we do have our own lives to lead. In our own ways, we too must garner some kind of prospect on what we’d like to accomplish during the short time we spend upon this planet. To accomplish is to plan, for how can we succeed at anything, if we’re not willing to put pen to paper and start to plan?
Yes, as Eisenhower stated, plans are worthless, but it’s in the process of planning where their effectiveness lies. Plans are meant as a guide and should be detailed to the degree that we can procure the necessary information to formulate the plan. However, and this is a big however, plans can never consider randomness. Life is random, things happen beyond our control, and no plan can accurately predict how external factors can cause the plan to go astray.
Of course, plans should consider as many as variables as possible, and a well thought out plan should have alternative responses to those potential variables. In other words, we aim to be prepared, and this is exactly what planning does. It causes us to think about what, where, when, who and how of achieving a particular goal. Whether it be starting a new business, following a new career path, or wanting to write a book, it’s essential to plan. Planning immerses us into the subject at hand. It motivates us to know our subject inside out.
A key element to any plan is a timeline, and the goal of the plan requires a deadline. It’s from the deadline, working in reverse, that we achieve the timeline. No timeline is carved in stone and flexibility is essential. As external factors change, so will we need to adjust the timeline. It’s at this juncture that we must remain calm and collected. The plan may falter, but never the planner, and solid planning allows for a solid planner.
Where does this leave us then? Are we living our lives according to a plan or are we like a rudderless boat in the ocean drifting without direction and purpose? Yes, storms will appear and toss and turn us every which way, but more than naught the world belongs to those that have a plan. The plan provides a foundation from which to operate from, and if we recognize that nothing ever goes 100% according to plan, then we’ll be in our best form to tackle what comes our way. Remember, life is never a straight line from point A to B, but rather a series of zigzags.
In essence, it’s in those “zigzags” where life is to be found. How boring would it be if everything we undertook always went to plan? Where would the challenge be? Naturally, we try our best to make it so, but it’s in the adversity that our character demonstrates itself. It’s in adversity that we discover our true selves.
Sadly, I would dare say that most people don’t even know themselves in this regard. Comfort is the enemy of true self-discovery, and most people dare never give up their comfort, only to live a listless life of never knowing what what might have been? Perhaps, many don’t care and never harbor any regrets, but perhaps many do? Not sure which is worse. Surely, if we at least aimed, planned and acted for something in our lives, we would have neither.
The question then begs: So, what’s your plan?
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