U is for Unforeseen vs. Unprepared

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, in so far as it stands ready against the accidental and the unforeseen, and is not apt to fall.

~ Marcus Aurelius

Back in January, I began the One Page a Day Challenge and immediately threw away my quill.  Now in April, I’m participating in the A to Z Blogging Challenge and prepping for a Wilderness Writers’ Retreat.  I need ink, a stiff drink and therapy.

N

o matter how carefully you plan your trip, there is always a bend in the road.

Sometimes it seems like things happen out of the blue just to throw you off balance.

This is top most in my mind today because of a situation at work.  Our program was supposed to get something scheduled.  We were assured by the two individuals in charge of this particular project that the event was already scheduled.

Then at a meeting today, it was announced that we weren’t going to get the schedule we needed.  For a project with an already strained budget, this put us all over the edge.

U is for Unforeseen vs. Unprepared

My co-worker and I looked at each in stressed disbelief.  How could this have happened?  For weeks we were told, “Everything is fine. We’ve taken care of it, no need to worry; we've been in constant contact with our counterparts at X.”  

Now, you’re telling us that we've been blindsided?

Sometimes we plan and plan, and despite our best efforts, things fall apart.  We can’t foresee everything event, or envision every possible spanner that could be thrown into said works.

Although some personality types are really good at that.

But encountering an unforeseen event or circumstance is very different from going in completely unprepared.  The first is understandable and forgivable.  The second ~ not so much.

U is for Use it

As in, use both your brain and your team. Again, not everything can be accounted for.  But when working on a project, be it for a multi-million dollar contract, a cross-country trip, or the great American novel, you should have a plan. 

You don’t like structure.  I understand.  I’m not a huge fan myself ~ interrupts my Muse’s energy flow, man.

But I’m not saying you have to develop OCD and insert a steel rod in your glutes.  Unless your idea is to travel cross country in search of your place in the grand cosmos ~ in which case the point is to see what comes your way ~ a minimal amount of prep goes a long way towards keeping you on track to the successful completion of your project.

Even on that cross country search for meaning, you probably want to do some basic prep: at least one change of clothes; car maintenance, gas money, food.  It could mean the difference between reaching your destination safely and becoming some cop’s newest unsolved murder.

Or the loss of a contract, your boss's, and your team’s respect.

Or the death of a dream.

Oremus pro invicem,

~ Mikaela

How do you deal with an unforeseen hitch in your plans?