“I love it when a plan comes together.” – John “Hannibal” Smith, The A-Team
I share that sentiment. It feels great when a plan works and I can place another check mark in the success column. I love to plan for the best, who doesn’t? Isn’t that what we are all shooting for? I expect to hit my mark, every time. That is the expectation when I give it my all. Otherwise, aren’t I just copping out and selling myself short? Why wouldn’t I expect the best outcome when I put forth my best effort?
Because a business doesn’t operate in a vacuum and I am not perfect. Things do not always turn out as planned for a variety of reasons despite my best effort. There are so many variables at play that can impact the results no matter how good I am or how well I plan. I can compose the perfect plan and orchestrate the strategy of the century. I know it’s good so I host visions of grandeur in my overactive, Pisces brain. I plan for the future and what will come next because I know the best is coming. Until it doesn’t and I find myself racking that same hopeful brain trying to eek my way out of another worst case scenario I left out of the plan.
The reality is simple; we do not plan for the best, we hope for it. We aim for it but we do not plan for it. We plan for the worst, that is why there are contracts, contingency plans, and exit strategies. Besides setting the basic terms of an agreement, the meat of any contract is basically what happens in the event of disagreements or worst the case scenarios. It seldom matters what type of contract it is, 80% or more of the heady legalese that should be considered a second language, deals only with what will happen in the event of…fill in the blank with anything negative.
Hope is a wonderful thing but it becomes dangerous when it is commingled with expectation. We should always hope for the best. If we didn’t we would become pessimists and that is no way to live. The danger lies in the attachment to any desired outcome. Once we place an attachment on to the outcome we hope for, we are set the dial to failure, or at the very least, disappointment. The attachment narrows our vision in a negative manner that restricts and eliminates the possibly in our mind for any deviation of what we expect as the final result. We must free our mind from that bondage of attachment and be open to alternate outcomes.
The lessons that I have come to realize in this context from my personal experience in business and life in general are two-fold; one, as I eluded to before, it is rare that things turn out exactly as planned, and two, when they do, revel in it. Take the victory, enjoy it, and then move on without expectation of what will come next.
A bonus lesson; be flexible and enjoy the success whenever a plan comes together. The means and the end might be different than how you envisioned or planned it but if the end result is what you wanted then there’s nothing to complain about. Don’t let the things that don’t matter prevent you from appreciating what does matter. If the plan comes together in one way or another it is a victory.
The road is very narrow in a “my way or the highway” mindset, so do some road work and widen the road.
Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator
You have to leap if you want to live
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