The Principle of Planning

Every year, I share some of my thoughts on setting goals for the new one. This year is no different. What is different is the fact that we are living in challenging times and when we live in challenging times it seems to be much more difficult to set plans for our future. This is because of our human nature. We tend to cling towards the easy negative rather than the hard sustaining work of being in the positive. It is strange that we need to put more effort into the positive than the negative but it is a reality that we need to accept and understand rather than fight. My personal experience with the negative is that, even if it is easy to be lulled into habits that take us nowhere, that nowhere becomes a place of darkness and desperation and pretty soon we find ourselves in a spiral that brings us into depression. But there is a principle that, if understood and applied into our lives, can take us to positive ground and provide us with stability even during personal and global challenges. It is the principle of planning.

I learned about this principle at a very young age. When I was about twelve years old, I had a teacher that taught me that we need to learn planning for ourselves and in our profession. Since then, I put his teachings to work and refined them through my life experiences. For instance, I learned a new methodology when I served my mission because of an experienced mission president who offered some practical templates and concepts to all his missionaries in order to plan for success. Later on, as I served in the military, I also learned that planning is invaluable in any crisis and that it is all about preparation and vision. When I started my profession, I also began looking at other experiences and advice in this area and read many books and attended many workshops to hone my planning skills. If you really wish to understand some of the dynamics of the principle of planning, I suggest reading an old classic by Stephen R. Covey: “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

So, as we all begin a new year, let us strive to set our life on a course of positive habit forming and successful outcome. Here are some thoughts that I hope can help you with this. Some of these thoughts are conceptual and some are practical. I believe combining all these will greatly assist us in having a generally positive 2021.

First of all, setting goals, targets, and objectives is an important strategic exercise. Even if we did not pursue our goals or actively work on but a very few, the actual planning part teaches us the ability to think of the important and to explore possibilities that otherwise, due to the whirlwind of daily life, we would never think about.

Secondly, we truly need to set aside “me” time to think of ourselves, who we are and what we wish to pursue in this new year. I am having my “me” time this week and I hope to come up with a good review of my 2020 and a reasonable understanding of where I am going and where I want to be by the end of this year.

Thirdly, we also need to think about the why – the big question. Having a bigger purpose and striving to reach for it, provides balance and potential inner equilibrium that will keep us grounded in a world that is becoming more and more confused and confusing – a world full of cacophony that tends to frustrate and anger. Just take a look at the plethora of comments on social media to see what I am talking about. In addition, recent studies have highlighted that 50% of the content on the Internet is fake (including the information that it is provided on a variety of topics), and that number is alarmingly increasing. A great read, and a strong suggestion on my part, regarding the importance of purpose is “Start with Why” by Simon Sinek. You will find this book very interesting.

Having said all that, and knowing there are more benefits to goal setting than the few I just highlighted earlier, the major issue with failing to see goals to their completion is that we complicate our lives by trying to do everything at once: after all we are the product of a society that teaches the “I-want-it-all-and-I-want-it-now” mentality. This is a big mistake but here are some thoughts I hope may help you in the coming year.

• Do What You Can. If your goal is to lose weight, you cannot expect to change eating habits that have developed over a number of years in a few days. Choose the one thing that will make an initial impact on your life and do it well, and then, when you are comfortable and secure in your accomplishment, move to something else. For instance, if you have not been physically active for a long time, try to walk ten minutes a day for a while and then, when you feel confident, increase the time gradually and eventually you will be able to do thirty minutes a day. In fact, I promise you that by doing so, you will feel a burning desire to go out and walk every day: the benefit is not only physical but mental and emotional as well.
• Lift Where You Stand. A few years ago, Dieter F. Uchtdorf taught of the power of the “Lift Where You Stand” principle. He told the following story: “Some years ago in our meetinghouse in Darmstadt, Germany, a group of brethren was asked to move a grand piano from the chapel to the adjoining cultural hall, where it was needed for a musical event. None were professional movers, and the task of getting that gravity-friendly instrument through the chapel and into the cultural hall seemed nearly impossible. Everybody knew that this task required not only physical strength but also careful coordination. There were plenty of ideas, but not one could keep the piano balanced correctly. They repositioned the brethren by strength, height, and age over and over again—nothing worked. As they stood around the piano, uncertain of what to do next, a good friend of mine, Hanno Luschin, spoke up. He said, “Brethren, stand close together and lift where you stand.” It seemed too simple. Nevertheless, each lifted where he stood, and the piano rose from the ground and moved into the cultural hall as if on its own power. That was the answer to the challenge. They merely needed to stand close together and lift where they stood.” The essence of this principle is that sometimes we need to be humble enough to accept the fact that: a) my strength is what it is at this point of my life and that is all I can use; and b) sometimes I need others to help.

• Take Small Steps. As the road to hell is paved with thousands of good intentions, so the road to failure is paved with the thought that we can move the big rock now and easily. The reality is that we cannot move a big rock by sheer elbow oil, or at least until we have developed the strength that is equal to moving that rock. Before we get to that point, we need to do many small things that will prepare us to do the big thing. We acquire knowledge of things overtime, precept upon precept, and not all at once. This reminds me of the principle of harvest: we plant a seed waiting and knowing that if we take care of it, it will eventually produce a wonderful fruit for us to enjoy. So it is for everything in life.

Now, we all agree that life is not a smooth ride and that there are challenges and obstacles along the way, but don’t get discouraged: do what you can, lift where you stand and take small steps, and even if you do not accomplish all of your goals, you will be a better person in the end and feel some peace within yourself. I can tell by personal experience…

Have a great 2021!