Have a Plan B

You have heard several times that if you have a plan B than you do not have confidence in your Plan A. Well I think that you do need to have a Plan B.

This idea of having a Plan B is probably more relevant now, due to COVID-19, than any other time in our lifetime. For those that have prepped and prepared for worst case scenarios are doing ok right now. In fact, I will guess that their stress level is low. They have supplies, food, money, and peace of mind. For those that did not plan for a worst case scenario situation, most likely are feeling a higher level of stress and wondering more about toilet paper and rent than who is dating who on the bachelor.

When we get through this period of time, I am sure more people will stock up on shelf stable food, have an emergency fund, or at least start funding one, stock up on paper products and cleaning supplies among other items. I think this is a good wake up call to be prepared and be ready for anything.

The same can be true with your plans for your life. Have a Plan A focus on it, work towards it, and put all you have in to. But, also have a Plan B, you never know when things will not go according to plan or your plan is no longer viable.

Look at every air plane, they have redundant systems, why? Because they designs want to make sure there is a backup plan, just in case the primary system fails. Now, the designers did not design the plane so that the primary functions fail, but they know that it could happen. And a primary failure with no backups in the air is not a good thing.

Thank about all the companies that built carburetors in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The ones that did not have a backup plan are gone. But, the companies that had a backup plan, those that knew they could pivot and change designs or even industries if need be, were able to survive.

Having a Plan B does not necessarily mean that you will have a different finish line. The alternative plan is a backup in case the first plan does not work the way you want it to.

Let’s say you want to go from San Antonio to Dallas by car. The ideal route would be to take IH 35. So that is your Plan A. What happens if there is construction or an accident on IH 35 and you cannot use it? What do you do? Well if you don’t have a Plan B you will be without direction and you may just follow the crowd. However, if you have a Plan B in case of situations like this you know what to do and you can divert to that path. Yes you may be delayed a bit but you have direction, with direction you have confidence, and you will not panic like others.

So look at your goals for yourself, your family, your career, etc. What is your current plan? If you don’t have one start there and get one. Then look at an alternative plan. Create a backup plan so that you will be ready to pivot and act swiftly if the first plan does not pan out.