When Things Don’t Go As Planned

This morning I am typing this blog out on an iPhone. I had to pick my son up from school yesterday after his badminton practice and somebody came into see me just prior to me having to leave. In a hurry, I left my laptop, schedule, and the current book I was reading in a bag there. 

So this morning I adapt and I type this out on the phone. Is it as fun…no, typing on a small device with autocorrect trying to guess my every thought isn’t awesome but it’s better than nothing. Did I wish that I had that book I was reading last night when I was winding down?  Sure I did, but the book that I chose when that one wasn’t there was great as well. Did I wish I had my schedule so I could be sure I hit everything I intended and start today with some sort of map? That would have been nice. 

Here is the thing about plans and routines. They need to be flexible. Shit happens. Not everything is going to go to plan. Even the so called “best made” plans will need some flex for outside issues.  So this morning I know that I had to get up and do my workout, I knew my laptop wasn’t here and so I prepped for that by ensuring I could log in from my phone last night. Simple adaptation. 

Time is going to move on no matter what happens. The clock doesn’t stop ticking. If things don’t go to plan, adapt the plan and keep moving forward. This isn’t a self pat on the back either. One of my first thoughts was that sucks, guess no blog tomorrow. That’s just having a quick look at the cheap easy path. It’s natural I think to do that. The more difficult one is choosing to keep my own thought clear and say “How else can I get this done or something even remotely close?”.

I bet that some of the best inventions were made that way. Just think of the good folks at Viagra who intended to make a cardiac pill only to find out they could really raise a few spirits instead. 

So I am not sure how this will turn out.  I can’t foresee any real issues though maybe it will be completely lost in format and come out as gibberish, but it’s the best option I had this morning, and most importantly it isn’t nothing. Even when it isn’t awesome, I have found if I still just show up it’s better than not being there at all.  

I used to run a competitive hockey program that just due to the nature of the work of the players saw anywhere from 5 to 20 players showing up for practice on any given day. Talk about a wake up call on day one when I had a practice designed for 20 players including 2 goalies and 5 people were there. I learned a lot about changing things up on the fly that season. The team won silver after not making the cross over for years. Just show up. 

I also planned to have bacon and eggs this morning but teenage kids have a way of meddling with groceries so it looks like my bacon is being adapted to scrambled eggs and toast. 



 

 

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