Planning for Worse Case Scenarios
Anticipation and Preparation Leads to Greater Fluidity
Things are still looking pretty murky on the international stage especially economically and there may be a great temptation to “wait until the fog clears” but no one is certain as to when that will happen. Furthermore, waiting “around for things to happen” or wishful thinking only exacerbates the underlying anxiety and the fear of the unknown.
During these challenging times, many people may still be “frozen with fear” or feeling even more stuck and not being able to see a way out. When people operate in this way, they end up doing nothing at all and to top it all, the cost of emotional energy and thinking constructively and proactively may be too much of a high price to pay.
Sadly, when the upturn does take place, these same people will have missed out on development opportunities meaning they will either end up playing “catch up” both personally and professionally and/or miss out on capitalising on any opportunities which present themselves. No doubt this is likely to have a negative effect on motivation and self confidence!
Being Proactive
Most people know how challenging it is at the best of times to plan ahead for any obstacles or delays which may hamper actualising professional or personal goals or dreams. Turbulent times on the other hand, requires people to continuously “step up”, emotionally, professionally, and physically to deal with potentially and unpredictable circumstances and take greater ownership in dealing with any unfolding obstacles before they become major issues.
Sounds pretty straight forward and for many, it’s getting a whole lot easier putting this into practice. The biggest challenge however, is taking that all important first step forward. It is humanely impossible to think of everything in terms of obstacles/stoppages/delays when it comes to actualising personal and professional goals, and on occasions it may even feel like an overwhelming task.
However, what is worth doing consistently is to pay attention to the “stuck points” and worse case scenarios and then get busy doing what is necessary to ensure the worse case scenario does not become a reality. Why? When people think or visualise obstacles and challenges which could potentially delay them, they are able to eliminate or minimise the impact and severity this could have on their goals progress.
An added bonus to this process is the confrontation of personal fears and feelings towards goals by mustering up the courage to think of all the obstacles whether they are big or small. This process also leads to greater empowerment because a proactive approach is adopted by planning forward and taking the necessary steps to ensure the path to goal actualisation is smooth. In this instance, if the perceived worse case scenario were ever to materialise, the impact is likely to be nominal and it would be
“business as usual”.
Regularly Auditing and Evaluating Goals
Regularly evaluating and auditing goal progress enables individuals to gain greater confidence and the motivation to “raise the game”, whilst simultaneously enjoying the journey and the development opportunities. In the words of Rita Gunther McGrath and Ian Macmillan, "To spur action, shift emphasis from cutting the role of failure to minimizing the cost of failure."
People who successfully achieve their desired professional and personal goals will have got to where they are by meticulously focusing on what is working and what isn’t working and quickly eliminating what isn’t working before it becomes a problematic issue. This is very well highlighted by B.C. Forbes in the following quote: “History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.”
Here’s a gardening analogy to reiterate further: Weeding regularly before the weeds take a stronger hold in the ground and if left unattended, the weeds would cover other coveted plants which have been planted. Removing the weeds once they’ve firmly established themselves in the ground requires greater energy and effort and subsequently. It also means a diversion and focus away from the more important activity which is to tend to the rest of the garden.
If people did their utmost best to eliminate as many obstacles and “stuck” points as is human possible, then they are less likely to get “caught out” and avoid feeling overwhelmed/afraid and more importantly lose momentum. Obviously no one is going to be prepared for all eventualities, but greater preparation and focus will lead to greater fluidity, greater momentum and focus in goal attainment! Maxwell Maltz quote sums up the above quite nicely in the following quote:
“We are built to conquer environment, solve problems, achieve goals, and we find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve."
Action Plan
- Identify an area personally or professionally where “STUCK” or Obstacles may be present. It may help to shift focus and environment whilst doing this exercise.
- Write down all the issues which maybe hampering the progress/journey. Leave this list for a couple of hours and come back to it and see if any additions can be made to the list.
- Go through the list one by one and come up with inventive ways to either minimize or reduce the negative impact this may have on current or future plans. Please note that this may take some time, so patience is the key.
- Create a plan of action which enables the inventive ways to be put into practice.
Sparks Fly When it All Goes Wrong
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