Planning

I am a great planner.

Carrying through--that needs work. But I'm getting better. That's why NaNo was such a boost for me outside of the writing itself.

But it's that time of year again. There are crisp new unmarked calendars begging to be filled. My house is dying to be free of clutter. My stories want a chance to see the world. My spiritual side needs steady, purposeful, deliberate nurturing. These are all things that will not happen overnight. The danger is that they will not happen at all without a plan.

So what happens to those plans of mine--all the ones so expertly drawn up and so easily abandoned. Well, that's not entirely true. I have stuck through several things only to find they were bad plans and should have been abandoned earlier. Others however, that deserved a little more attention, did fall away at the first bump in the road.

Boiled down to a few things, the problems with some of my plans were:

*They were too broad. They included just a goal and not the nuts and bolts of how to implement them. Or if the nuts and bolts were there, perhaps they too were too broad.

*There were too many. Too many for my energy level or for the time available. I guess that's a function of humility--recognizing and accepting my limitations.

*There were no contingency plans. Life doesn't follow the script very well sometimes. I wonder if it's possible to draw up contingency plans before the unexpected strikes?

*There was no room in my heart for change. Trying things on for size is okay. Decide along with the plan where, when and why it is okay to revamp or to quit.

*There was no plan for play. Even with the most important jobs we have to do, to get improve I believe we need time to try new things regardless of what the outcome may be, good or bad. Leaving this space for play to chance is perhaps a bad thing.

*There weren't enough rewards. The parts of the plan took too long to see tangible results and therefore they seemed stagnant and the enthusiasm wanes.

Just thoughts. I understand the idea of resolutions and I don't think they're altogether bad. When better to start than when the calendar is crisp and new. But that isn't the only time to plan and dream. And plans and dreams set then are no more critical than a plan or dream that starts in April when the flowers are blooming.

Moving forward. That's at the core. Identifying and focusing on what is most important is what makes the days add up to something that satisfies and uplifts, no matter what hardships or unhappy events may intrude.

Today's words...for what they're worth.