Planning Prepares Us For The Unprepared
From the beginning of time and maybe even before that, the world had a sense of order, and man followed time by patterning himself through his daily living. Mealtime, work, and sleep filled the days in very early history. At some point recreation evolved and filled parts of the day’s activities. As years and decades and centuries passed, work, sleep, downtime, and so many activities formed what we now know as our days and nights. Within those days activities of work and play we organize our individual arenas of home and office keeping up with all those “things to do” and the endless lists of responsibilities. Doctor appointments, food shopping, cleaning out the garage, vacation planning, teacher conferences, and appliance purchases. The list is endless. At work we have more responsibilities than any eight hour work day will suffice and we either stay later or the work comes home, or both. Twenty-four hour days don’t seem long enough and then again for others it is too long. Many people just go through the motions of each day, filling it with work, food and play unaware of how much really has to get done. Others cannot be organized enough, always making sure the laundry is done, the frig is well stocked, and all home and office supplies are always at hand. This in addition to all the original home, food, work and play activities. To each his own. But one thing is for sure: no matter how you plan, life will always throw you a curve ball. Being organized and on top of all your daily activities will not stop the unexpected. Life in all its neat little compartments that you have created can knock you for a loop each time. Health, work issues, travel delays, weather, fl at tires are only touching the tip of the iceberg in situations outside the norm. A big part of how you endure and recover from the unexpected is your outlook. Talk to yourself, put it all in some perspective that you can handle, and pep talk the heck out of yourself. After which lay out a plan of action that works for you. Take the bull by the horns, and map out your plan. Tell yourself “this too shall pass” and believe it or not it will. The key is to accept what is really beyond your control but don’t deny what is within your reach to deal with. It will make you stronger and able to help those around you as well as yourself. Being prepared equips you with the tools to stop, regroup, and deal with the situation be it temporary or permanent. Coping mechanisms come from different places within us, and we each have to know what they are and where and how to access them. Be strong, be prepared, and most of all be aware of what you can do for yourself and others, too.
by
Susan Koslovsky