Everyone has had to learn one important fact in life – sometimes things get in the way of the most carefully made plans. Perhaps you’ve booked a trip but the weather is terrible when you go. Maybe you want a nice weekend at home, but your boiler decides to stop working or there’s a leak or guests drop by unexpectedly. And even day-to-day things can change without any warning, and even if you thought you had everything nicely planned out, you just really never know what’s around the corner.
Of course, it’s impossible to control everything, but that doesn’t mean it feels any better or easier when things change course and basically go off-script. So how do you cope when plans change and you’re left a little unsure? Keep reading to find out.
Take A Moment Before Reacting
It’s tempting to immediately try to fix things, rearrange your schedule, or even just sit and panic, but very often the best thing to do first is to pause, step back, and think about what’s happened. It’s totally fine to feel disappointed, annoyed, or just unsure about what’s happened and what you need to do next, and you don’t have to be happy about it (at least not right away), but it’s important to deal with things in a calm way so you can solve the problems and move forward.
Sometimes, stepping back gives you a bit more perspective on the situation, and you might be able to see some options that weren’t obvious when you were really close to the problem. And other times, it’s just a bit of time to breathe, reset your thinking, and not panic, and that can be enough.
Flexibility Is Fine
A lot of the time, we think it’s great when people make a plan and stick to it – after all, being organised and reliable is brilliant, and it’s a positive trait, isn’t it? Well, yes, it is, but something else that’s a positive trait is being flexible – that’s just as valuable and just as important. The fact is that being able to pivot and adjust and rethink what you’re doing in the middle of doing it is a real skill, and it’s one you’re going to need to use a lot because things change all the time, whether we want them to or not.
The point is that when plans change, flexibility is a truly important skill to put into practice – yes, you might have to let go of what you originally thought was going to happen, and that’s not always easy, but it could actually be for the best.
Let Change Take You Somewhere New
If your original plans have gone out the window, why not try something you wouldn’t normally think to do? That unexpected gap you’ve now got in your day (or evening), could be the perfect moment to try something totally different, and you never know where that’s going to lead you – it could be the perfect thing to do that helps you hugely in your life.
For example, you could try a game of online roulette because you’ve finally got the time to do it, and that might lead to being better at making decisions and taking risks, for example. Or you might decide to get an earlier night, which means you’re more productive the next day. Perhaps you’re suddenly able to see a friend who’s in town who you thought you’d miss. As you can see, looking at things in a positive light is always the best option to take.