The Failure Plan

Let's start with a simple example which could be relatable to most of you. The year was 2020 and you had planned an oversees trip with your friends. You've bought your best pair of clothing. You've made a list of things to do. You've read about all kinds of foods to eat and places to go... And then boom! Here's the Lockdown. The entire world is at home and you have to cancel your plans. It's obvious that you're disappointed and upset about your plan failing.

Now let's look at it the other way around. You've planned your trip with your friends. You're all set but you've been hearing about this deadly virus slowly spreading across the world and various places going in quarantine. There's a thought LURKing in the back of your mind that you might need to cancel your plans and go into quarantine as well. So you alternately plan things that you'll do if you need to stay at home. In that way, if your outdoor plans fail, you'll be less disheartened and you'll have thousands of different things to do.

I have a personal experience... I used to date a woman and had planned on marrying her. I was quiet determined about it. I started saving money and planning my future accordingly. Eventually, it did not work and we broke up. So, while I was still dating that person, there were days I had an idea that we might not work out or I might not want to marry this person. So I started planning in advance about the things I'd like to do while rebounding. I planned on working out a lot. I planned solo outings. I wanted to start my own blogging website which I did and I wanted to pursue stand up comedy. I'm doing everything I was unable to do back then. Now I feel I'm living my best life.

We are always in the process of planning things. We plan holidays, projects, parties, marriages, retirement, and many more things. But what if our plan does not work? Everyone agrees to the Universal Truth when someone says, "Nothing goes as planned." and there are two big reasons for it. First one is the fact that the universe is no respecter of your plans. Not everyone you meet will agree to your plan or will encourage you to do something which you are determined to do.

There will be people who will kick your rear back for no reason. They'll keep disrupting all your hopes and expectations. This is something that's been happening since the day Earth was created. Its best summed up by the writing of 17th-century Prussian General, Helmuth von Moltke "No plan survives contact with the enemy."

The second reason for our plans failing is that "We believe in our plan." We put so much of work into the planning process, that we start to believe our plan even before the execution. This has been one of the reasons that most of us fail because we only think that if it works for us then it will work for everyone as well. What we never think is that every mind does not work the same way and not everyone will like what we do.

So, what do we do now? Not plan anything at all. Or should we plan things hoping they'll be as good as they can be, and then resign ourselves pro-actively by doubting ourselves and disbelieving those plans? Nope! We'll do something better. We will have a failure plan. It’s always good to have a failure plan in such a way that it will control the losses and give us equal (or maybe more) success as the actual plan was supposed to give.

Thirdly, people always believe that they'll succeed in the first go. Everyone is not fortunate enough. If they fail, they try to do the same thing all over again but, they fail again and then keep going in a loop with the same process. The mistake they make here is, they don't try a different approach. They don't think about doing things differently which might click and they might succeed.

I'll give another small example here: A couple of years back, two of my uncles (Mike and Harry) applied for a visa abroad. The application was rejected. Both felt bad. Uncle Mike said, "I'll never give up!" and reapplied for the visa. He did the whole thing again and he failed again. Uncle Harry moved on and made some real estate investments and is well-to-do today. Uncle Mike is still applying for the visa and keeps failing.

There are two things that I've learned from Uncle Mike and Harry. The first thing was the importance of having a failure plan. The second thing about not being stagnant anywhere. It’s healthy to move on and find something better to do in life if you keep failing at one thing. If you're giving it another try, then analyze your mistakes and areas of improvement. Work on them before making another attempt. Do things differently. Even if you fail, you might make a progress.

So, here is a list of some simple things you can implement in your everyday life for a better future:

• Have a Goal:

Every plan is a waste of time and energy if you do not have a goal in life. Find what you want in life and get committed to it. It’s a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future, and to motivate yourself to turn your vision of this future into a reality. By knowing precisely what you want in life you know where to concentrate. Not only that but you'll quickly spot all the distractions that might lead you in the incorrect direction. Also, the Goal that we have in life is built on what we do now. We just need to make sure that we're moving one step close to the goal every day.

 

• Do Not Quit, Take a Break Instead:

Humans are designed in a way wherein we're bound to feel burn-outs, tired and frustrated. If you've been working long enough, you’re bound to experience lows and feel less interested in work. It’s during this time you should take a break. If you’re doing it right, you will bounce back and find a renewed vigor for what you're doing.

 

• Accept Your Mistakes:

Making mistakes is a part of life. If you're not making mistakes then you're supposed to be God. Very few people have that courage to own up their mistakes and not play the blame game. Taking responsibility for our mistakes is not only a trait of a successful person but, it is also a great way to learn. Sometimes mistakes get more serious and complicated. It may as well take us longer to learn from them and change our ways. The most important thing in these instances is to learn how to accept what has happened and move on.

 

• Trust Your Instinct:

Your intuition is shaped up by all your past experiences. Your existing knowledge is what you've gained from those past experiences. It’s like a web of facts and feelings within your body. The more experienced you are, the wiser decisions you will be able to make through your own intuitions.

• Talk to People:

Let like-minded people know about your plans and be ready to listen to what inputs they give you. You will discover a lot more things that can be done. Also, they will help you be aware of more areas which according to them might lead to failure. They will give you honest feedback about things you need to work on.

• Be Open to Criticism:

Understand the fact that criticism is an opportunity to learn. As I said above, not everyone will have the same opinion about things you're about to do. Be open to criticism and you will be able to accept negative feedback about yourself or your work without giving out an emotional response. The more you open yourself to this criticism, the more you can use it to enhance your performance in areas that you agree need improvement.

• Last and most importantly, have Plans:

And it’s not just a success plan. We never know if things will work as we want them to work or not. Have a failure plan wherein you'll know what needs to be done if things don't go as per the initial plan. According to a study by Entrepreneur.com, more than 90% of people quit because they don't know what to do after they fail. Planning for failure does not make you negative or paranoid. It makes you smart. Moreover, there is a huge difference between planning for failure and thinking that you're going to fail.

No one wants to face the dreaded "Failure" Tag, but even the most successful people have experienced their share. It’s a part of the game. And, you never know! It might serve as the foundation for something far bigger and better.