It Is What It Is

Have you ever laid out a plan to achieve a goal then have it go completely sideways? Talk about frustration. Do you ever wonder why your long and methodical planning has to be interrupted? I sure have. I am sure many of you out there know exactly what I am talking about. So, let’s take look at a couple ways which we can respond to our plans not working out as we hoped.

1. We can look at this as unfair. We can see it as hard and painful. We can choose this as an opportunity to give up. “What’s the point, right? It’s not working out and I can’t do this.”

Or

2. We can sit back and look at what is really going on here. It is very possible we need to work on acceptance.

If we choose option 1 (And, yes, it is a choice) we end up feeling frustrated or incompetent. We stop looking at the positive and focus on the negative. We can slip into the victim role if we aren’t careful.

But if we choose option 2, we will see this as a learning opportunity. It will likely still be hard and even painful. There is a great opportunity here to practice acceptance of what is.

In my experience, I would lay out a plan to achieve a goal, including how long it would take for me to implement. Then when the plan didn’t happen within “my” timeframe, I assumed my plan wasn’t working. What I discovered was that I just hadn’t given my plan enough time. There are many unforeseen reasons that goals might take longer than we desire them to. What I ultimately learned was with acceptance and patience, my goal eventually came to fruition.

A couple of other things to consider:

When our goals don’t go as planned, it could be a sign that we need to stop and evaluate our plan. Maybe the plan needs a minor tweak

There is a very true possibility that this goal is not meant for us at this time. Sometimes our plans aren’t meant to work out and that is okay.

In either case, the key to keeping your piece of mind is to practice acceptance. Try saying “It is what it is”.

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For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining, is to let it rain.

– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow