I have a confession ..... and an announcement - during the past month I have been meeting with a Life Coach. This past month for me has been both exhilarting and off-balancing. Let me explain.....
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Part of our discussion brought an awareness in me that my personality lends itself to being a planner. I am a great planner. My calendar is synced to my phone, my computer and is imprinted in my brain, it is color-coded and detailed - I have a plan. My discovery this past week was .... although I have a plan I may not always prepare.
For example - I may plan all the days of the week, all the field trips, all the parties and all the events - what I have not planned for is the preparation required to fulfill all these plans. You see I am a launcher - I have great ideas, I can put them on the schedule and then I forget or have no desire to make sure there is time to accomplish all that was "planned". How does knowing this help me? It helps to know that I can plan and in that plan I need to plan time to prepare. I need to acknowledge that great ideas and events come with a price of time. I need to recognize that a plan does not equal completion. In order to complete a plan I must prepare to complete.
As I write this I am reminded of the boy scout motto "Be prepared". As I desire to fill the life I am living and improve the legacy I desire to leave - I realize it is not enough to plan, I must prepare. I must decide to be intentional in my thoughts and actions and allow enough margin to handle all the things I have planned. I believe in doing this I will become less frazzled, less frustrated, more easy going and possibly less controlling - because I have prepared for the plan vs planning with no allowance for preparation.
The Bible states God has plans for us for a hope and future (Jer. 29:11) but more importantly He prepared a way through Jesus Christ for us to have eternal life (John 3:16 and 14:6) both planning and preparation are important - I must follow after the example that was given and not just have great ideas but prepare a way to carry them out.
plan |plan|noun1 a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something : 2 (usu. plans) an intention or decision about what one is going to do
prepare1 make (someone) ready or able to do or deal with something : • [ intrans. ] make oneself ready to do or deal with something :