A failure to plan is a plan to fail.

There are those who feel that planning one's  life is too restrictive, that spontaneity should be the watchword, and we should all simply let things unfold. I sympathize with this viewpoint, and when we subscribe to it, life can certainly be exciting, as we never know what is around the corner. That's all well and good until disaster strikes, and It surely will if we have made no plans at all. The disaster need not be in the form of a happening, it may simply in the form of a creeping crisis -  the credit card bill which seems to move higher and higher, the mortgage rate which suddenly leaps, the secure job we have which evaporates through no fault of our own.

There is a famous piece of research done by Harvard business school in 1953 where a class of college students were asked about their life goals for the future. Only 4% had goals, the rest hadn't really given the future much thought. Years later the same group were revisited, and  lo and behold  the 4% who had identified goals when undergraduates earned more, had achieved more, and were reportedly happier than the other 96%. Easy to pick holes in this kind of research of course, for example ..what is happiness??  nonetheless it does demonstrate a link between goals and success. ì

This link is not just about money, it is about career success and personal happiness. What makes people happy differs from individual to individual..... and we all know (don't we?) that  money does not guarantee happiness. There does seem to be a consensus among writers on this subject that one of the things which brings happiness is a clarity about what is valued ... and how planning can help to achieve this.

So, if we subscribe to a belief in the importance of planning, then how do we go about this?

Sound planning assumes that a relatively systematic approach to the planning itself will be acceptable. This does not imply that life itself has to be systematic or pre-determined in all aspects. Indeed, spontaneity and  'ad-hocness' can be built in!  What it does assume is that you wish to be sufficiently well organised to be able to make the most of opportunities and assets in order to help achieve the goals in your head and your heart.

Plan your planning

It may sound odd to plan your planning but you do need to have a methodical approach to the way you make your plans, otherwise you run the risk of falling at the first hurdle - missing something important which dooms your plan to failure.

There is no right or wrong format for planning, but the key words are inclusive and consistent. Include all relevant information, and always follow the same steps. Taking account of all factors is an obvious necessity, and it really does make sense to establish a personal method of arriving at your decisions which works for you, and which then becomes part of the fabric of how you function as a person in shaping your life.

Identify the need ie. the goal you are aiming at

Identify all factors which may affect the steps leading to success

Break all these factors down into elements you can influence and those you cannot

Determine that you will control those factors which you can influence Analyse what it is about these factors which make them important Determine what you will do to make these elements become positive factors in the development of your steps to achieving your goal

Determine a time frame for the plan - you may want to break the plan up into small steps - maybe not

Formulate the plan, then execute it.

If you have a consistent method for planning it is fairly easy to re-do the plan if it doesn't work. You just go through all the steps again checking that you have all the right information, and that your steps were achievable. No point in biting off more than you can chew -  be sensible, realistic and work within your capabilities. So long as you have thought of all the angles to ensure there will be no surprises, then things will work out for you and you will succeed.

but................... The emotional factor gets in the way sometimes !!!

The reality of life, though, sometimes gets in the way of this planning. Those darned emotions can make us do things which seem illogical, irrational and occasionally just plain silly..... particularly where affairs of the heart are concerned. Haven't we all been there? That's what makes us human - emotion, passion, sentiment. When passion and emotion kick in, go for it. follow your heart, seize the moment and capture the day. Every action we take has consequences, every decision shapes our lives. In the final analysis the reality is that planning is important, but love and passion is a necessity.