Many of you will remember (but most may not) the television show called The A-Team. Mr. T was the tough guy in that series that most people will remember. Basically, there were four guys, all ex-special forces soldiers, on the run from the military for a crime they did not commit, that engaged in dangerous missions along the way to help out people in need. Each episode was a different mission and would involve complications, surprises, and near failure, but they would always get the job done. At the end of each episode, the leader of the group, Hannibal, would sit back, light up a cigar, smile, and say… “I love it when a plan comes together.”
Isn’t that a great feeling? When you scramble to get something done, overcome set-backs and difficulties, and end up successful. It feels so good to sit back when it’s all over, having successfully made it, and take a moment to enjoy when your plan comes together.
We often forget that the biggest successes involved a plan…maybe not with our own successes, as we know what we had to do to get where we got. But it is often with the success of others when we fail to realize that there was likely a plan in place.
When a quarterback is celebrating a Super Bowl win, a manager is rewarded with the big promotion, or a friend shows up in the best shape of their life, we often think about how lucky they are. Some of us are jealous, some are happy, and some are surprised, but most don’t think about the blood, sweat, and tears that likely went into achieving that success.
We’ve all heard the saying, fail to plan, and you’re planning to fail. Well…it’s true. In order to achieve the greatest levels of success, you need a plan. We would never leave the house, jump into our car, and just drive aimlessly. We have a destination in mind, map out how we are going to get there, calculate how much time it will take, make sure we have enough fuel, and then we go.
Having a plan is critical, but there are six keys to consider when creating that plan.
- The first step is… choose the goal. You need something worthy of creating a plan for. That goal should be meaningful to you, and the more specific and detailed the better. Knowing what you’re striving for is essential, and the meaning and importance it has for you matters.
- A plan should be broken into steps. Our goals are often big, so to think we are going to simply jump from where we are to where we want to be is often unrealistic. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Having multiple steps makes a task more manageable.
- Anticipate problems. Adversity is part of any journey, so anticipating problems, roadblocks, and set-backs will help keep you on track when difficulties strike. Seeing potential problems prior to running into them helps to minimize surprises, confusion, or disappointment.
- Consider alternatives. There will be times your plan runs into a hurdle that cannot be overcome. Having alternative routes and secondary options can be super helpful just in case. It’s not a bad idea to have a Plan B… and Plan C…. and even a Plan D.
- Allow for the proper amount of time. Humans are notorious for underestimating what it will take to get what we want. Tony Robbins said something that I think about often… that we tend to overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in a decade. No matter how small the plan, being realistic with how long it could take will help prevent disappointment if it takes longer than you thought.
- Enjoy the journey. We often get so fixated on where we ultimately want to end up that we forget that between where we are now and where we want to be, real life is happening. We may miss important moments, overlook the beauty around us, and speed past people, places, and things that deserve more attention.
Even the most challenging tasks can be overcome if a good plan is in place. We have not only survived as a species, but thrived, primarily because unlike other species, we have an incredible ability to plan. We have also been equipped with the ability to adapt, change, shift, and grow. The brain gives us dopamine spikes along the way to keep us excited and to keep us going. And the biggest dopamine spike might come when we sit back, relax, and say… I love it when a plan comes together.
