What do you do when your plans don’t go as planned? If you’re a control freak, type A personality, like me, you probably came out of your Momma’s womb with a plan. For a while, you worked your plan and it was good, until it wasn’t. So what do you do when your carefully crafted plan isn’t working, no matter how hard you try? Here are a few suggestions:
See it as a Gift
Honestly, my life’s highest aspirations were to work as in-house counsel for a company, get married, have about three kids and maybe mentor. Sounds pretty good, right? The kicker is, as of right now, none of this has happened. Trust me, it wasn’t because I didn’t try either. As time passes though, I’ve had to admit that my failed plan has actually been a gift. I wasn’t emotionally or spiritually ready for any of it. Had it happened before now, I’d probably be divorced and my kids would be f*cked up because I wasn’t adequately prepared to be a good wife or mother. My plan failing to happening on my timeline has given me time to work on bettering myself. What I once perceived as a problem has actually been a gift.
Make New Plans
Sometimes your failed plan means you need a new plan. For me, my failed career plan forced me to make new plans. For a time, I had a fashion blog and a t-shirt company, both of which failed. Those failed plans led me to creating Nzuri Noire. What I’m doing now has far exceeded the my original life plan. Would I had been comfortable if my original plan had worked? Probably. Would I had been fulfilled? Probably not. Me being forced to make new plans has actually been a blessing. Sometimes what you think you want isn’t actually what you need.
Embrace it and Surrender to the Process
As I was launching Nzuri Noire, nothing went as planned. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. I had two different names for the site, a different focus and a different launch timeline. As I worked on the site, I hit one roadblock after another. The web designer I hired tried to run off with my money; I had to change the name, twice, or face possible trademark infringement claims; and on and on. At first, I was heated – again, my control freak, type A personality rearing its ugly head. As my timeline got pushed back and I had to pause, I embraced the process instead of fighting it. As I surrendered, my original plan changed. I had time to step back and see what the site needed to be versus what I had wanted. If I had launched the site on my timeline, it would’ve been what I wanted, versus what was needed. Whew! Looking back, I’m so glad my plans fell apart so something better could come together.
Your plans not going as planned may be a good thing. While it may be devastating in the moment, pause and get a new perspective. Sometimes the best plans are the ones we didn’t make.
What do you do when your plans don’t go as planned? What have you leanred from your failed plans? Drop a comment below.
0 Comments