Plan B is About Resilience
“Things do not always go according to plan,” is the second of the five things we cannot change. “Life is about how we deal with Plan B;” source unknown. This is an awesome reply to the concept of things not going according to plan. Are you flexible enough to prepare for your plans not working out? To me, this is a challenge to be clever and resourceful enough to make lemonade when we are dealt lemons.
esilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity. More specifically to be resilient is to have the mental/emotional/spiritual skillfulness, to work out a solution when your expectations are defeated. I can think of many examples in my work as a counselor. In fact, Plan B is like a “do over,” or another chance, or a new life, or a better way, or the end of my attachment to an outcome.
t this time, I would like to insert the idea of Mystery. An old adage of Alcoholics Anonymous is, “If you want to hear God laugh…tell Him your plans.” The third step of the twelve steps suggests that we “…turn our will and our life over to the care of God…” I used to think this means that God has a plan for me, however; today I prefer to interpret this as my willingness to seek out what God’s intention is…for me, for my life. Simply put, if I turn my thinking/planning (will) over to God and my action (life) over to caring then Plan B may be far better than Plan A.
he challenge here, is that our best thinking (planning) may be flawed, in fact, I recommend to all my patients that they challenge their thinking. Consider the source, are your thoughts (plans) ego driven? Oftentimes the Mysterious reply to my plan is far superior to what I imagined. Planning is a controlling way to deal with anxiety. My experience is that the most anxious people are the most controlling and expect theirplan to become your plan.
”Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). In conclusion, accepting that God is in charge, accepting that planning is appropriate with limits, accepting that resilience is embracing Plan B, these are the blessings of prayer and meditation. An attitude of gratitude will insure that God’s healing wisdom will allow mistakes to be made and forgiveness will surely follow.