Who needs a plan, anyway???

They say, It's all in the details! And supposedly that means that if you are careful in crafting a thing, it can become anything you plan and intend for it to be. That is a sterile definition of what being "successful" is supposed to be all about.

Now, the truth is that I, of all people, am a "planner." In fact, I LOVE plans! The notion of being able to wield some semblance of control over things that pertain to me truly does appeal to me -- especially in light of the multitude of other things that I can never seem to get to "act right"(for instance, death, taxes, unexpected visits from relatives, presidents you didn't vote for, etc). And, I do think it's fantastic to have a plan. But my experience has been that the actual act of planning works best when it pertains to inanimate things and objects. That's not to say that one shouldn't establish some sort of goals and targets to shoot for, but I truly believe that the thing to remember is to not take life personally. Things like life, employees, co-workers, friends that you don't quite know why you call "friends"...well, let's just say I have learned to not take myself -- nor my own plans -- too seriously.

And, truth be told, I don't think we're supposed to take ourselves so seriously that we believe that everything that happens to us is a direct reflection of our worth as human beings. Otherwise the garbage guy would think that just because he deals with garbage all day, that he is only worthy of dealing with "trash" in his everyday life. The disgruntled secretary who wishes she could get more pay but never had the chance to prepare herself educationally for anything other than secretarial, is no less important an individual than the president of an organization if she is fulfilling her role to her potential.

In short, things that we can't change, like our heritage, our skin color, our height, our genetic disposition and upbringing and set of experiences that make us who we are, we can't take responsibility for. But to the extent that a person has some input for the direction in which his or her life will go once presented with a choice to do one thing or another (what we might call an "opportunity"), I think a person's intention does count for something. I don't have any theories to back this precept but I suspect this is why we who work hard to do right do eventually reap what we've sown - be it further on down life's road or in the present and in the NOW. Not that everything happening to us is always "good" -- but who is it [living] among us that gets "good" things happening to them all of the time? No one. But going through the motions of pretending that we're going somewhere, that what we're doing will - in the end - amount to something of value, for our good, for the good of our family and loved ones, this helps prevent us from drifting.

I won't pretend that what we're aiming towards is usually the final destination. But I say it's great to practice, so that whenever the true purpose of our lives does come to us, as we are transitioning between "plans," we are rehearsed in doing what is necessary to move through the steps that are necessary to get us closer to achieving our goals. So to answer the drifters who might argue, If it's gonna change, why bother planning? Why not free-fall, I simply would respond that the experience prepares you for when the real thing comes along. So aim for something -- even if you're not sure what you're shooting for is "you." Practice really does make perfect.