Plot Your Course
It’s been my
experience that there are three kinds of people in the world. There are those
that plot and plan out their lives from day one. The more successful people are
all like that. They have a roadmap they intend to follow and they stick with it
no matter what. These people can’t do anything without mapping out a plan way
before they get started implementing it. My wife is one of those types of
people. Say we’re going to take a little trip next weekend to visit relatives
or just go to another city and stay in a hotel. She has to make a list of all
the things we need to do first. Make reservations. Decide what clothes to pack,
etc., etc. Decide what other kinds of things we need in the car. Talk about the
list for days. Tweak the list. Change her mind several times about the things
on the list. Once she gets it all squared away in her mind, she finally puts
her list into action. She sometimes gets a little upset when things don’t pan
out just the way she imagined they would or went according to her list. That’s
okay. That’s just the way she operates. She’s a natural born planner. The world
needs planners. The Pyramids would have never been built if it weren’t for
planners like my wife. This kind of people often ends up being our leaders,
politicians, scientists, industrialists, or your boss.
Then there are the
type of people like me and my daughter. We are definitely not planners by
nature. I gave it a shot a long time ago, but I quickly discovered that all my
plans didn’t just often go awry – they always went awry. So I said to heck with
that and quit doing it. I’m more of a spur of the moment kind of person. I try
not to get wrapped up in plans. I just do it – hmm, where have I heard that
before? Of course this drives my wife nuts. Spontaneity is so much a part of my
mentality now that I always have an overnight bag packed and ready to go. Never
know when I might just decide to bug out and go somewhere. I’m not kidding
either. Right now I rarely get to go anywhere anymore because of my commitment
to take care of my elderly father. But my bag is still packed, nonetheless, just in
case. My daughter and I went on a spur of the moment trip once to San
Antonio…just for the heck of it. We didn’t make reservations ahead of time. We
didn’t have any particular things we wanted to do while we were there. We just
got in the car and went. Once we got there we rode around until we found a nice
motel and checked in. We rested for a little while, and then just got in the
car and drove around the city. Of course we hit the River Walk and dined at
some nice restaurants. Then it was back to the hotel and laying around pool
side for a while to rest up. We did head out one morning to go to Sea World,
but we missed the exit. And then we saw a sign advertising a safari type zoo
and some caverns. We went there instead and had a great time. On the way back
we found a wonderful Cajun restaurant – who knew they had such a thing in San
Antonio? All in all, it was a very relaxing and fun weekend that I will never
forget. And none of it was planned in advance. The good thing about this kind
of people is that they are very adept at rolling with the punches. Life can
throw a lot of curve balls, but these folks take them in stride and move on. This
kind of people often ends up being our artists, writers, musicians,
philosophers, and poets.
The third kind of
people I kind of feel sorry for sometimes. They’re neither planners nor spur of
the moment type people. They are never proactive about anything. They simply
react to the situations they find themselves in usually accompanied by a lot of
hand wringing, tears, or complaining. They are always the victims and it is
always the other guy’s fault and not theirs. They don’t plan ahead and they
don’t see it coming. And once they find themselves in the middle of a situation,
they don’t have a clue as to what to do about it other than whine. Their whole
modus operandi is to hope someone will rescue them and show them a way out of
their current situation. Yeah, we’ve all met people like this. The needy ones.
Clingy. I have been drawn into relationships with this type of people before. I
always feel sorry for strays and want to take them in and nurture them. Fix
them up. Maybe I could show them how to change a little and deal with life on
their own terms rather than always being reactive instead of proactive. It
never works. You can’t change them. They have to want to change themselves and
then just do it on their own. That can happen, but it usually doesn’t.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of this kind of people in the world. But the
thing you have to understand is, nothing is set in concrete. With a little
effort, you can change the road you’re on. You can decide you don’t want to be
a spur of the moment type person any longer and start planning a new you. Make
a list and stick to it. Or you can throw away your lists and start nurturing
your spontaneous and more creative side. And if you are one of the third kind
of people, it is not Their fault. It’s not the World’s fault. Make yourself a plan
and plot yourself a new course. Stick with it. Someday you will get there. Even
if you don’t quite make it all the way, at least you tried. Become responsible
for your own destiny. Don’t wait for destiny to happen to you. Pick a star and
plot your course. It is never too late
for that.
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