No matter how much we’d like them to, things don’t always go according to plan.
Not according to our plan, anyway.
We can get around this by detaching from our need to have things play out according to a certain script.
That’s good if we can manage it. But it’s easier said than done.
Another approach is to figure out what we’ll do as the situation unfolds.
When reality deviates from our expectations, what will we do?
This is a worthwhile exercise. By building these contingency plans, we both loosen the grip the need for certainty has on us, and prepare ourselves for an easier time of (or when) that flexibility is called upon.
So, yes – plan. Forecast. Look at the road ahead and spend some time figuring out where you’ll go if you hit an obstacle someplace along the way…
But once you’ve made the plan, let it go.
Whether you’ll have to use it is out of your hands.
There’s value in being prepared. But when preparation is an excuse for our minds to worry about things we can’t control, it goes from pragmatic to poisonous.
The ultimate contingency plan is simply being willing to accept whatever comes your way, content in the knowledge you’ll handle it – whatever shape it takes.