What do you do when your plans do not work out? Maybe it hasn't happened to you, but I know there have been a number of times in my life when my plans didn't work out the way I wanted. If you have not had that experience, congratulations. If you have, then you know that can be a frustrating experience. Or perhaps you have some other way to describe it - infuriating, problematic, or just plain troublesome, etc.
How you cope with that situation says a lot about you. If you begin to take your frustrations out on others, that would be one way to handle it. Or you could sit in the corner and mope. Or you could take it in your stride. There is some saying about "The best laid plans..." and I think it ends with, "often go astray" or maybe that is just how it ends for me.
The other day I was in a shop and saw a little plaque that talked about how you cope with Plan B. So many times when our original plans don't work out, we don't know what to do or what to think. But if you start by creating a Plan A and a Plan B, at least to some extent, you may not be so thrown off base if Plan A doesn't work out. Of course, planning may not be your strong suit to begin with, so the thought of developing two plans may really make you cringe. But if you are going to develop a plan, I think it is good to think about an alternate, just in case you don't initially get what you had planned. Your Plan B would not have to be quite as detailed as your Plan A, but even having a rough draft would mean that you could just dust it off and fill in some blanks to get started on it. And that advice applies to many aspects of today's life - including finding a job.
Mary Ann Davis is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in private practice providing coaching and counseling for life's transitions; including a career or job change, planning for retirement, coping with a job loss, planning to return to work or school, or other life changes. She meets with individuals in person and via telephone to assist them in developing solutions to their life planning issues. Mary Ann is certified as a Master Career Counselor by the National Career Development Association, a Life/Work Counselor by the National Employment Counseling Association, and is a Distance Credentialed Counselor (DCC). For more information on her services, please visit her web site at http://www.yourcareerplan.com/.
To contact Mary Ann, please call (513) 665-4444 x3 and leave a personal and confidential message or send an email to YourCareerPlan@cinci.rr.com.
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