Don’t plan to survive 2012 – plan to live!

It is the beginning of yet another year and what a great opportunity it is for one to take some time out and do some personal planning.  This time is useful in giving oneself the much needed direction and meaning in a world that is full of chaos and disorder. But whenever we do this there is always a problem of sabotaging our own success: we tend to plan to survive instead of planning to live.

What do I mean? Well, in the simplest of terms, we tend to plan to mitigate or endure life's hardships. If we cannot mitigate or completely remove them from our lives, then we might as well endure them we tell ourselves as we plan. This is survival. And this is "THE PLAN" for those that plan to survive.  

Planning to live, on the other hand, is planning to utilize and enjoy life's opportunities. Life is full of opportunities and it is up to us to utilize and enjoy them we tell ourselves as we plan. This is living. And this is "THE PLAN" for those that plan to live.

Planning to survive is planning to mitigate or endure life's hardships. Planning to live is planning to utilize and enjoy life's opportunities.  Don't plan to survive 2012 – plan to live!

The wisdom of the ant

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
   consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
   no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
   and gathers its food at harvest. [Proverbs 6:6-8]

In Proverbs 30:25-28, Solomon described four things that he had observed to be small but also extremely wise.  The first of these things was an ant.

"Ants are creatures of little strength,
   yet they store up their food in the summer" [Proverbs 30:25]

The wisdom of the ant is seen in its ability to plan ahead.   Being weak tiny incents, ants cannot survive in low temperatures.  The body temperature of ants changes in response to the atmospheric temperature. In winter, their body temperature falls so greatly that their movements inevitably grow sluggish. Therefore, they hibernate restlessly in relatively warm places, such as the soil or under the bark of trees.

Ants also eat a large amount of food in autumn to put on fat, thereby allowing them to go without food through the winter.

Nobody is absolutely certain about the future.  However, we are sure that there is bound to be a rainy day sometime in our lives.  For ants, that rainy day is usually the day that the winter season begins.  To protect themselves against the dreadful effects of winter, ants gather and store up their food in the summer.  How are you preparing for the rainy day in your life?

The 5 Benefits of Planning

"In life, as in football, you won't go far unless you know where the goalposts are." ~Arnold H. Glasgow

Successful people plan ahead. I highlighted this in my last post. I also highlighted the six areas for which they plan.  You can read this article and more at http://likeed.blospot.com.

As a follow-up to last week's article, today I want to share The 5 Benefits of Planning.

1 Direction

Having a well-laid-out plan of what you want to do in the coming days, weeks, months and years gives you a campus for your life.  There is very little guessing of the course you need to take in order to reach your desired destination.  The course is set. Your plan is the campus for your life.

2 Motivation

Having a well-laid-out plan of what you want to do in the coming days, weeks, months and years gives you something to look forward to when you wake up in the morning – be it having victory over a business competitor or tackling a challenge in something that you have been working upon, there is always something you look forward to when you wake up in the morning.

3 Perseverance

Having a well-laid-out plan of what you want to do in the coming days, weeks, months and years gives you the courage to press on in and through difficulties, challenges and setbacks.  Circumstances and people have little say on what you do.  You always have the courage to press on in and through difficulties, challenges and setbacks.

4 Speed

Having a well-laid-out plan of what you want to do in the coming days, weeks, months and years gives you the focus you need to accomplish things quickly.  You do not waste time on urgent and unimportant things, but concentrate on important things that are not urgent.   You accomplish things quickly.

5 Getting Things Done

Having a well-laid-out plan of what you want to do in the coming days, weeks, months and years gives you a schedule of the things that you need to do – and you do them.  This is the most important benefit of planning: you have a schedule of the things that you need to do – and you do them.

As 2011 comes to a close, I want to challenge you to start planning for 2012.  Do not leave it for January. You will lose precious time. Others who will already be doing while you will be still planning.

Successful People Plan Ahead

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. – Winston Churchill

Everybody has an equal chance of becoming successful in life.  If you look at it closely, you will see that those that succeed in life have a different – and better – way of doing things than those that do not succeed in life.  

They plan ahead.

Planning ahead is taking charge of your life. The things you use to take charge of your life are time, relations, money, personal development, career and leisure. If you plan and manage each of these things in your life, you will become more successful than you are today.

Time

Successful people schedule their days.  Their time is precious to them.  They do not wake up wondering what they are going to do today.  They already know.  Nor do they wait for someone to tell them what to do.  This enables them to get more things done than the average person and to succeed in life.

Relations

Successful people intentionally enter into and come out of relationships.  They understand the power of relationships.  They only pursue relationships that add value to them.  They do not pursue relationships that do not add value to them.  This enables them to get more things done than the average person and to succeed in life.

Money

Successful people master their money.  They do not allow it to master them.  They know that money is a good servant but a bad master.  They use money use money as a tool.  They make it do whatever it is that they want it to do. This enables them to get more things done than the average person and to succeed in life.

Personal Development

Successful people are pro-self-improvement.  They are involved in activities that increase their knowledge base and experience.  They take delight in being able to learn from others and sharing their knowledge and experience with others.  This enables them to get more things done than the average person and to succeed in life.

Career

Successful people pursue careers that are purposeful.  They work out of passion, not coercion.  They enjoy what they do and take great pride in it. They do the work they would do even if they were not going to get paid. This enables them to get more things done than the average person and to succeed in life.

Leisure

Successful people take breaks every now and then.  They know that time-out is better than burn-out.  They use this time to relax, have fun and rejuvenate.  They also use this time to review their progress towards their goals, recast their plans and create new plans.  This enables them to get more things done than the average person and to succeed in life.

Everybody has an equal chance of becoming successful in life. Your success in life will be determined by what you do with your time, the relationships you create, the way you handle money, your personal development goals, your vocation and your leisure activities.

To be successful in life:
·        Create a schedule of the things that you want to do with the time you have
·        Intentionally pursue relationships that add value to you
·        Master your money
·        Continually improve yourself
·        Engage in purposeful work
·        Take breaks from your work every now and then

A few thoughts on planning

1.        Planning is an exercise of faith

 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" – Hebrews 11:1  

Faith is to believe in something without proof of its existence – it is to hope for something which is not seen.  

A plan is premised on the hope of turning dreams, desires and aspirations into reality.

Dreams, desires and aspirations are things which are not seen.  

Planning involves hoping for things which are not seen.

Planning is an exercise of faith.

2.        We succeed when we plan and fail when we don't

"The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception." – Proverbs 14:8

There are two kinds of people that I come across everyday – those who live their lives by design and those who live their lives by default.

Those who live their lives by design make plans for the future.

Those who live their lives by default do not make plans for the future.

Winston Churchill once said, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

We succeed when we plan and fail when we don't.

3.        Our plans succeed when God is involved in every aspect of our lives

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." – Proverbs 16:3

The biggest of our dreams, desires and aspirations must be to always give the Lord first place in our lives.

When we give the Lord first place in our lives He directs, guides and protects us.

With the Lord's direction, guidance and protection, we have a better chance of succeeding in whatever we do than without them.

Our plans succeed when God is involved in every aspect of our lives.

4.        Our plans succeed when we get input from others

"Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." – Proverbs 15:22

There are those of us who say, "It's either my way or the highway."

We do not see that that the only people that we are hurting are ourselves.

"My way" is not always the right path.

We sometimes need others to show us the way we should go.

Our plans succeed when we get input from others.

God is on your side

When things do not work out according to our aspirations and desires, we sometimes blame God and render Him undependable.

Is God truly at fault?  Is He ever undependable?

"God causes all things to work together for the good of those that love Him and are called according to His purposes" (Romans 8:28).  God cannot be at fault.  He always causes everything that takes place in our lives to work together for our good.

What more, God says "I have plans for you … plans not to harm you, but to give you a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11).  We can always depend on God. His plans for our lives are not to harm us but to give us a hope and a future.

 Whenever things do not work out according to your aspirations and desires, always remember that God is on your side. His plans for you are not to harm you. They are to give you a hope and a future.

It Couldn't be Done by Edgar Guest

I found the following poem by Edgar Guest inspiring and decided to pass it to you. I hope it will motivate you to do the things that people discourage you not to do.

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But, he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't" but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, as he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one we know has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle right in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That cannot be done, and you'll do it