We’ve all been there.

We make plans. Plans with the greatest intentions in the world. Smart plans which are designed to help us achieve what we want in our lives. Plans which can only succeed…

…and then something goes wrong.

 The reasons for plans going wrong are numerous. Sometimes it’s the impact of other people. Sometimes it’s factors out of our control which impact our plans

and often, and probably more often than not, it’s because of us…

I reckon that often…

We plan and don’t implement as effectively as we should.

I reckon that often…

We put plans in place initially and then ‘life’ gets in the way and we find ourselves down the road without having achieved our goals.

I reckon that often…

This happens to us all. Plans go wrong for a bunch of reasons and for you, for me, and for everyone else on the planet. To deny this reality is a mistake.

The fact that plans, erm, don’t go to plan isn’t a new phenomenon…

Mike Tyson knew this to be the case when he said…

“Everyones got plans…until they get punched in the face”

Robbie Burns talked about it 330 years ago when he said…

“The best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry” (although Robbie used more, erm, Scottish venalcular)

So, this raises a question…

Are plans (and planning) pointless?

The simplest answer is no.

However sometimes when our plans go wrong, either at our hand or due to something we can’t control, it’s easy to decide that planning might be pointless.

However regardless of how we feel about it when our plans do go wrong taking time to make plans, either financially or professionally or personally, is one of the most positive things you can do…

You see plans do go wrong…but that just provides us with an opportunity to plan afresh. As world war 2 veteran and former president of the united states, Eisenhower (a man who knew his fair share about the importance of planning both in his political and military life) once said…

“Plans are nothing. Planning is everything.”

You see plans do go wrong. However instead of seeing this as a reason not to plan…see it as an opportunity to re-plan…

To learn lessons from your previous planning and start anew, to refocus on what you want to achieve and (most importantly) to start to take the action required to get there.

You see there’s plenty of academic research highlighting the importance on goal setting and planning all highlighting the same conclusion…

Planning works.

So, when you’ve planned and for whatever the reason you’ve not achieved what you expected the answer is simple.

Take a step back. take another look at your goals and start planning again!

(call to action) – if you need support with putting your financial plans in place and identifying the actions you need to take to get there feel free to give us a call to talk about, at our expense, how we might be able to help. 01708 606202