Plans create possibilities

A weekend plan actually gives you more options

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is that plans create possibilities when we spend
some time thinking about what we'd like to do, and

(00:25):
when we open up more options than if we see
what we feel like in the moment. I was thinking
about this episode on a recent weekend when we had
a lot of kid activities on the calendar. That's not
unusual for a family with five kids, but the fall
leaves were also at their peak. We wanted to go

(00:47):
explore and hike in the mountains a little more than
an hour away, so I spent some time studying the
weekend landscape. Saturday was going to be challenging, but if
we decided not to do one optional thing on Sunday,
then the first activity was going to be at two pm.
If we made sure to get up on time, we

(01:10):
could be in the car at eight thirty am, drive
to the Poconos, hike for the two hours our kids
are willing to tolerate, and then get back to the
house before the appointed time, and so we did. We
had a family waffle breakfast and then loaded everyone up
the fall color was so beautiful, and I was so

(01:32):
happy to have seen the mountains and the trees and
walked in the cool mountain air. I also realized that
there was absolutely no way we could have gotten up
on Sunday morning and just decided to do that walk.
We likely would have missed the window by waking up
thirty minutes later, and it would have been hard to
make a decision. In other words, our plans created a

(01:56):
possibility that wouldn't have been there otherwise. I find this
a little ironic, as often when people resist making plans,
it's because they want to leave possibilities open. When we
commit to things, at least in theory, we are saying
we won't do other things. But the issue is that

(02:18):
by failing to plan, we cut ourselves off from options.
There are so many things in life that absolutely won't
happen if you don't plan them. This becomes more true
as life features more moving parts. People lament that with
kid activities, or work commitments and all sorts of other things,

(02:40):
it is impossible to find time for fun. But that's
not true. There is space for fun, but you do
have to think about what sort of fun you'd like
to have. You have to think about when you might
do these fun things. You have to think through the
logistics when you do those things, though, then all sorts

(03:01):
of possibilities open up. All family members can do the
things they want to on the weekends. You can do
the things you have to do and the things you
want to do. You can find space for hobbies and
family adventures even in the middle of a full life.
So if you've got things you've been thinking that you'd

(03:23):
like to do, don't wait to see what you feel
like in the moment, don't wait to see what fits,
and definitely don't wait until Saturday morning to talk about
what you'll do Saturday. By the time you make a decision,
you might have cut off possibilities that might have involved
getting going when you got up instead of figuring everything out.

(03:44):
Plans create possibilities, they don't cut them off. I love
serendipity as much as the next person, but I have
also noticed something I encounter more wonderful serendipitous things when
I in situations like hiking in the mountains that I
am sitting at home doing nothing. In other words, plans

(04:08):
lead to serendipity as well. That isn't a paradox. In
the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's
to making the moose of our time. Hey everybody, I'd

(04:32):
love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod. That's B the
number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also
shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart

(04:52):
media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with
all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to
staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I
heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit
the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

(05:13):
listen to your favorite shows. H