Planning toolbox

As I make my plans for the day, I utilize the toolbox of experience to figure out what I have learned along the way. First, there are harsh realities to be reckoned with. Many of these are simply unchangeable, such as the law of gravity and the principle of sowing and reaping. If I spend energy fighting against these realities I find myself worn out and frustrated. It is better to accept them as fact and work around them. I can lessen the negative impact of the law of gravity by maintaining my feet on the ground. If I must leave the ground, I need to prepare for the return trip because it will happen. I can use the law of sowing and reaping to my advantage by planting good seed in good soil.

Once I get by the harsh realities in my plans, there are the trial and error lessons that I have learned. It is of little use to continue to do the same things expecting different results. I need to “smarten up”. An entrepreneur once said:

“Sometimes doing the same thing a second time when it hasn’t worked the first is indeed just foolish. But sometimes it’s shrewd. Wisdom consists, in part, in knowing the difference. Flexibility is a virtue. But in most matters, flexibility properly kicks in only after persistence has been given a fair chance.”

There are also the unexpected victories that help along my planning path. These serendipity moments are really a boost because they make us feel good about our choices.

The Road not taken
By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


Plan carefully today, use your toolbox wisely