Several years ago my family traveled the Alzheimer's Journey and I spent a lot of time going to support groups to learn more about Alzheimer's and how best to cope and make things easier. In the course of these meetings I learned a very important lesson that can and should be applied to several avenues of our everyday existence.
That tip was to always have a Plan "B". Up until then I didn't realize that life was in fact a multiple choice option. Do I want to fill in the circle A, B or C? Do I want what's behind door #1, #2 or #3? I just thought plans should always be expected to work out for the best and that was that and when they didn't that was just one of life's never ending surprises or disappointments.
What I did notice was that I was severely lacking in alternate plans. I stumbled along trying to implement Plan A in the Alzheimer's walk and while sometimes it worked, most of the time it was like trying to jam a square peg into a round hole - loads of stress and no successful result. Why can't Plan A just work? It should work! I want it to work! How will I manage if it doesn't?
The answer is that we always need at least two and possibly three scenarios to situations; the seemingly perfect one, the one that could possibly work and the one that WE don't want to work at all. All of my options turned out to be the ones that would work for me the best, not taking into account that I didn't allow any flexibility in that choice. I was too regimented, too self-centered and sometimes just plain too stubborn to consider anything else.
After the light bulb went on and the great "Plan B" was implemented on many occasions with tremendous success, I learned to keep a "B" Prepared Plan for most decisions and possible outcomes in life after that. Just knowing that there can be more eggs in my basket than just one keeps things a little bit more in perspective. Preparing our minds for a "B" can actually free our mind from that singular focus on "A."
Sometimes what is behind door "B" can actually turn out to be a bigger prize that what's behind door "A." And even if it isn't, I have prepared my mind for that so it isn't quite as big of a shock or disappointment.
While we can't change the outcome of our expectations or our careful planning, we CAN change the way we react to the outcome! If we only have Plan A in our pocket, our sights and our mind, we will take quite a hit when that plan doesn't materialize. Spreading out our options and dividing the possible results doesn't make Plan A so exclusive or so vital.
So the moral of this little insight is that I hope you all have your Plan A's come to fruition, but keep in mind there are 26 letters in the alphabet!
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