July 30, 2025 • 35 mins
Ever wonder why some people meticulously plan every detail of their lives while others thrive on spontaneity and last-minute decisions? This fascinating dichotomy shapes not just our personalities, but profoundly impacts our health, relationships, and ability to achieve our goals.
The structured planner enjoys numerous advantages—clarity of purpose, efficient goal-setting, better time management, and the confidence that comes from anticipating challenges. Their approach creates reliable frameworks for achieving health objectives and building productive teams. Yet this same structure can become a prison of perfectionism. Analysis paralysis, fear of failure, and rigid inflexibility often prevent planners from taking action or adapting when circumstances change. Many health journeys stall because someone is stuck researching the perfect approach rather than simply beginning.
Meanwhile, spontaneous individuals bring creativity, energy, and joy to life's experiences. Their flexibility allows them to seize unexpected opportunities, think innovatively, and form deeper connections through presence and adventure. The willingness to step outside comfort zones fosters tremendous personal growth. However, this carefree approach brings its own challenges—disorganization, impulsive decisions, inconsistency, and the stress of dealing with unforeseen consequences when things don't work out.
The healthiest approach lies not in choosing one style exclusively but in developing the wisdom to know when each serves you best. Creating flexible frameworks allows for necessary structure without sacrificing adaptability. Whether establishing exercise habits, building relationships, or pursuing health goals, the balanced individual can plan thoughtfully while remaining open to spontaneous opportunities that enrich the journey.
What's your natural tendency? Do you plan everything to perfection or prefer to wing it? Consider how integrating elements from both approaches might create a more balanced, fulfilling path to health and happiness. Share your experiences or questions about finding your optimal balance!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Well, hello and welcome to the Healthy Living
Podcast.
I'm your host, joe Grumbine,and I'm happy to share some
thoughts with you guys today.
I am super grateful foreverybody who supported this
podcast and, as we continue togrow, I'm looking forward to not
(00:31):
only sharing more andinteresting topics, but more and
interesting guests.
If you're interested inparticipating as a guest, please
reach out.
You can generally leave amessage through the show notes
or my email is grumbinejoe atgmailcom, and you know you don't
have to be an expert.
(00:52):
You can come on and share yourexperience, products, anything
that ties us to a healthier lifemind, body, spirit and any
combination of the above.
And today I'm a little offtopic in some ways, because
(01:16):
usually I'm talking aboutsomething specific, specifically
related to a particular healthconcept.
This is a more general topic,but I think it's important.
In going through life, you meeta lot of different people, and
our social life, ourrelationships, are critical in
(01:41):
our health and we've talkedabout that numerous times
community and all of that, and Ithink it's important to focus
some attention on those things,and this also relates to just
accomplishing things, to settingtasks in motion all sorts of
(02:03):
elements that can be applied tohealth.
And so today I want to talkabout the differences and maybe
the strengths and weaknessesbetween the type of person who
is a planner, superhyper-focused on planning
everything to the T, and thenthe counterpoint to that, which
(02:25):
is the spontaneous one, and Ithink that there are benefits to
both sides.
That can dramatically affectour growth and our health and
our ability to learn, and it canaffect mind, body and spirit if
(02:45):
you really start looking at it,and I think a lot of the things
that we talk about have to dowith learning and accomplishing,
goal setting and achievingthings.
I think that's where healthultimately comes in.
So if you're lackluster andyou're not trying to do good or
(03:06):
better with your life, chancesare you won't and you'll
probably sit relatively stagnant.
You'll probably find yourselfin habits and ruts and maybe
good ones, maybe not, but Ithink the not good ones tend to
be a lot easier to fall intothan the better ones.
(03:26):
So first I want to talk aboutthe hyper planner and the
strengths and weaknesses thatcan come from that and, you know
, maybe to look at yourself andsee where do you fit into this.
I know I am a somewhat plannerand I like to think that there's
(03:50):
a balance between the two.
That would be the better way tobe, but there's extremes on all
sides and some people you knoware far to one side of a
spectrum.
So let's look at some positivesabout you know being a planner,
(04:12):
and maybe the first one wouldbe you know, you have some
clarity and direction.
You think about things.
You plan, meaning you actuallythink about what you want.
I think that that's critical ina healthy life, because if you
don't know what you want, howare you going to know if you get
it?
Happiness is highly connectedto health, and happiness is a
(04:37):
choice, I think, more thananything.
But it has to do with beingaware, being mindful, being in a
place where you know where youfit, in a place that you create,
but you also exist within.
So clarity and direction, Ithink, are important because you
(04:57):
have some sense of where you'regoing, you know where you are
and maybe you even know howyou're going to get there.
And goal setting I think aplanner definitely has an
advantage.
You know, if you say I'm hereand I want to get there, that's
(05:18):
my goal and you're thinkingabout it and you're a planner,
well, you're going to go.
Well, what can I do to get fromhere to there better, faster,
more stable, and I think thatyour planning can really create
a path to get to where you'regoing.
And I think planning creates astructured approach, creates a
(05:45):
structured approach.
So, if you think about it, ifyou're a planner, you're
thinking about the beginning,the middle and the end of your
goal or your task or your idea,whatever it is you're working on
.
And the chances are, if youcreate a plan, it's going to
have some kind of a structure toit.
It's going to make sense.
It's going to say, well, I'mgoing to start here, I'm going
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to build this foundationalelement and then I'm going to
stand on top of that and thenI'm going to be able to reach
over to this other place orcreate this dynamic or this
relationship or build this tool,whatever it is, but there's
going to be a structure to it.
So you can sort of number one,you can look ahead and plan your
(06:26):
next moves better.
I think that there's a hugeadvantage in that.
I think that a lot of peoplejust sort of fake their way
through life and they just react, always reacting, and sometimes
being proactive.
I think, and many times beingproactive far outweighs being
reactive because you get to havemore choices when you're being
(06:51):
reactive.
Well, you have more goodchoices anyways.
When you're being reactive, youknow there's generally a lot
fewer options to get to whereyou want to go because you're
reacting to a situation ratherthan saying, well, I want to get
here, so I'm going to make thefirst move.
So I think that's good.
I think you really, when you'rea planner, you improve your
(07:15):
productivity.
I think you generally considertime management.
I think if you're not a planner, I think you inadvertently piss
a lot of time away.
I think we lose sight of whatwe're doing, where we spend our
time.
I think today, with theselittle square boxes, that
(07:36):
everybody spends their time onscrolling and YouTubing and all
the stuff that we do YouTubingand all the stuff that we do I
mean, hopefully, listening to aninteresting podcast is a good
use of your time reading a bookor writing a book or writing
poetry or music or whatever itis you're doing.
But I think when you're workingfrom a plan, somehow you think
(08:00):
about time more and again.
Is that always better?
I don't know.
We're looking at this right now.
I'm not necessarily going tocome to conclusions, but just
examine the situation.
I think you waste less time andenergy and efforts by having a
(08:21):
plan, because a lot of timesexcuse me, if you don't have a
plan, a lot of times you'llinadvertently say or do the same
thing over again or you'llforget a thing that you needed
to do and then you got to goback and undo a step.
And if you're looking at yourplan and you're looking at it on
(08:43):
paper in your mind on acomputer screen, however you're
doing it, I think it allows youto see pitfalls and where waste
would happen a lot easier ratherthan just jumping into it.
So I think there's definitely abenefit there, definitely a
benefit there.
(09:03):
I think, being proactive as aplanner, you have a benefit or
an advantage, because I thinkyou can anticipate your
challenges ahead of time.
You're going to see where's theobstacles, where's the
(09:27):
difficult spot going to come,how am I going to prepare for
that?
Do I need to train?
Do I need to save?
Do I need to dig a hole orbuild a fence or whatever it is
that is going to help youovercome this challenge.
What you're going to see thechallenge ahead of time, and I
think also you look at risks andmaybe come up with the plan B,
(09:50):
maybe come up with ways aroundpotential risks, and I think
that's an advantage to justcruising down the road, not
knowing what's around the cornerand hoping you're ready for it.
Knowing what's around thecorner and hoping you're ready
for it, I think the planner hasa confidence that you get from
your plan.
You are prepared, you'rethought out, you can walk
(10:15):
through life going okay, I'mready for this.
There's an advantage, I think,to that, I think that's a
strength and I think that, likein a situation like with my
nonprofit, as I'm articulatingour plan, I think it gives you I
(10:36):
don't know like a stakeholderassurance where you can say, hey
, you know, here's my vision,here's my plan, here's what I'm
going to do, and you can see itand look through my's, my plan,
here's what I'm going to do, andyou can see it and look through
my eyes and maybe feelconfident in what I'm looking to
do.
And I think a final point tothis might be the plan is going
(11:00):
to bring better teamcollaboration.
So, you know, if you got a guywho's motivated and spontaneous,
yeah, you can get peopletogether.
But if this person doesn'texecute well or, you know, maybe
he's fun and full of charismabut, you know, causes people to
(11:24):
have issues every now and again.
It's going to be a lot harderto get a team together to say,
all right, let's work together,let's collaborate on this.
So I think the planner is goingto have clear roles and
responsibilities.
I think that builds a betterteam.
I know I struggle with that alittle bit because I'm all about
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freedom and I want to sort ofbubble up people's potentials
and I don't always see what theywant to do.
So I like to give people theopportunity, but in a lot of
ways people would rather be ledwith these clear roles and
responsibilities so they knowwhat they're getting into and
(12:08):
they don't have to think aboutit.
And then maybe finally,alignment and accountability.
So people know where you fitinto this plan.
You know if there's timelinesinvolved, you know if you're on
point or if you're behind theball.
There's accountability and Ithink really you can accomplish
(12:28):
more with a group this way.
Now let's look at somenegatives to the planner.
I think a lot of times plannersget stuck in their plan and you
can get overwhelmed and stressedand get seized up.
You know, sometimes when youplan, you just plan down to
(12:52):
these microscopic levels thatmaybe you don't need to.
You know, sometimes when youoverthink it you don't act.
And another piece is you canget overwhelmed.
You know, when you have toomany details, too many things to
(13:17):
pay attention to, too manythings to remember, and it can
be very overwhelming if you'relooking at it.
I think in some ways you cansort of look at it as to am I
looking through a microscope oram I looking through a telescope
or am I just looking through myeyes?
And you know the difference ofperspective that you get from
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this.
So if you start looking at amicroscope, you start seeing all
the little teeny teeny holesand bits and pieces and bugs and
creatures and all the things.
And oh my God, it's a lot bugsand creatures and all the things
.
And oh my God, it's a lot.
And if you look through atelescope you can see so far
that you can see so many things.
You realize how huge everythingis.
It can also be overwhelmingSometimes.
(14:01):
Just looking through your owneyes and seeing what you can see
can be not so overwhelming.
I think when you're a hardcoreplanner, a lot of times you're
inflexible.
So you know we'd like to thinkwe can plan ahead and plan for
everything, but the truth is youdon't always see what's coming.
Sometimes you can have thegreatest plan and something will
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change that will throweverything out of whack, and you
know you can create unduestress.
You can limit your options andopportunities.
You can cut out the possibilityfor you to pivot when you need
(14:45):
to because you're stuck in aplan, and I think sometimes that
can get in your way.
I think one of the biggestproblems with the planners is
what they call analysisparalysis.
I think you know they justspend day I guess it would be
day.
I'm not so much of a hardcoreplanner, I'm a somewhat planner,
(15:06):
but I can remember working onwhen I set up my nonprofit, the
Human Solution International,and when we were originally
setting the thing up I needed toget it set up because I was
getting ready to go to a courtbattle with the government over
me providing cannabis medicineto people and I was facing
(15:28):
prison time over this and webuilt this group that was going
to offer support to people and Iwas facing prison time over
this and we built this groupthat was going to offer support
to people going through similarcases.
And I had all these wonderfulpeople that came from different
groups and different backgroundsand we all agreed to create
this entity, this nonprofit.
But I had one or two peoplethat were just so stuck on
(15:51):
planning and they wanted to finetune everything, get those
bylaws perfect, get all thelittle things, and finally I was
like no, we got to go, we gotto file this thing and we got to
start and we'll figure out onthe way.
And I'm so glad I did, becauseI don't think we ever would have
launched the thing and both ofthe people involved ended up not
(16:14):
performing and fell off thetrack early on.
So I think inaction is a bigdeal.
I think also, as we discussed alittle bit, missed
opportunities.
I think when you plan so much,there's opportunities that come
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up.
Not only do you maybe limitchoices to get away from a
problem, but also to moveyourself to an opportunity and
take advantage of a situationthat happens briefly.
And you know, I think that'sdefinitely a downside of being a
(16:59):
planner.
I think, again, this is alittle bit rehashing it, but
neglecting execution.
You know being execution, youknow planning versus doing.
I think a lot of times havingthe meeting is important, maybe
(17:19):
the first time around, butsometimes you go and do the
thing and then you have themeeting instead of have the
meeting and then maybe do thething, and I think that's
important.
I think talking about things isgenerally not doing them.
And I think it's important totalk about a thing if you're
going to do it to a point,especially if you're going to be
doing it with other people, ifyou're part of a team, but
(17:45):
talking about it and talkingabout it and talking about it,
talking about it and talkingabout it and talking about it
generally it's not doing it.
And then I think in a lot ofways you know you can get
delayed results.
You spend so much time planningand again, it might work for
you, your plan might get youthere quicker, but I think
sometimes it goes the otherdirection.
I think you spend so much timeplanning things that you're
(18:10):
spending a lot of the time thatyou would be doing, thinking
about and talking about andplanning what you're going to do
.
Another negative side again isinflexibility.
I think that you know you getstuck in this rigid structure,
this plan that says I got to dothis or it's not going to work,
(18:31):
or I won't do it unless I can doit this way, and I think that,
again, the inability to adaptdoes far more harm than good is
the way I see it.
I think sometimes planners alsohave a fear of failure.
I think that you know you setin your mind an expectation,
(18:54):
excuse me.
You set in your mind how it'sgoing to go and you're
anticipating things and you'vegot it all laid out, you've got
it all planned out and sometimes, even when you know a little
thing goes wrong.
I think sometimes you canreally freak out and have this
fear of failure and I thinkmaybe finally, overplanning can
(19:20):
strain relationships.
I think that if you insist onyour plan, your way or the
highway, it puts friction into acollaboration.
I think it can create anenvironment that makes it
difficult to work together andstrategize and I think,
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ultimately, an overly detailedplan can complicate
communication, because if youare the person who developed the
plan, you create the plan, youput it out there and you just
think that everybody's going toread it, listen, follow and if
they don't, they're not doing itright.
(20:07):
And you know there's really nota lot of room to discuss a plan
once everybody is on board withthe plan, because if you're not
going to change it, then whatis there to discuss, and so I
think overall, um, being aplanner has a lot of benefits,
(20:30):
but I think that taking it toofar and I think that not being
flexible is really the thingthat gets most.
It can be applied to a diet, itcan be applied to health goals,
(20:55):
meaning fitness goals, all ofthese things that we talk about,
like what I've been dealingwith, solving the cancer problem
.
I've done a lot of research butthe you know, the truth is you
got to act, you got to do things, you got to take risks, you got
to get out there and, you know,put things to the test.
(21:19):
So I think that that'sdefinitely.
There are strengths andweaknesses to being an extra
planner.
In an extra planner, the othercounterpoint to that, the
opposite side of that coin, isbeing spontaneous, and the
spontaneous person is excitingand fun and brings with them
(21:50):
endless opportunities, becauseyou just never know what they're
going to do.
But there's also a lot ofchallenges that comes with this,
and I know that I've been veryspontaneous in my life and it's
brought me plenty of good things, but it's also got me in a lot
(22:11):
of trouble, and so let's firstlook at the positives that would
be involved with beingspontaneous.
So spontaneous person isgenerally very flexible.
You're ready for whatever comesyour way, because you don't
know what's going to come yourway and you don't really have a
plan, and so you say, well, I'mgoing to get up and see what
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happens.
And so you're adaptable, you'reopen to opportunities.
You know you're out therelooking for opportunities.
I think that's very positive.
I think that a lot of times theperson who doesn't plan but is
aware and maybe just knows whatthey want, can have an advantage
in a lot of situations.
(22:55):
I think creativity really relieson spontaneity.
I think that if you're creative, you have to be able to
improvise, you have to be ableto flow, you have to be able to.
You know, I don't think apainter or a sculptor or a
(23:19):
musician necessarily goes I'mgoing to write this song and
it's going to be this way andI'm going to structure this
thing and I'm going to do it.
Maybe you can, and I'm sureprobably some people do, but I
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think generally when we're beingartistic and creative, we flow,
we just let it happen and openup that element that allows
possibly divine revelation orour inner self or, you know,
connecting with whatever energythat we seek to.
(24:01):
I think you can only do that ifyou're open to it and and
there's a spontaneity that'srequired for that.
I think that spontaneousthinking, I think it fosters
innovation Because, instead ofbeing stuck in a plan and again,
(24:23):
that's not necessarily a badthing, but you're able to
entertain the notion of thingsthat might not be possible and
sometimes you can explore anddiscover something new because
you're not living within thebounds of a plan or structure.
(24:45):
Sometimes you can have a freshperspective.
You know you jump in and trysomething new that you've never
done before.
I think it can be inspirational.
You know you can.
Just let's try this and jump inand try it and not being afraid
to fail.
I think spontaneity is fun andexciting.
(25:08):
I think it's really brings outthe juice of life.
I think that when you thinkabout what makes life enjoyable,
worth living, I thinkspontaneity is a big part of
that and I think without someelement of spontaneity, life can
(25:29):
become rigid and boring ordifficult, and I think there's a
joy that comes from spontaneity, that only comes from
spontaneity.
You know there's a thrill.
I think you can create somebeautiful memories through
(25:52):
spontaneity.
I think spontaneity isenergizing.
I think when you go out on anadventure, or if you're with
somebody especially, I think ifyou're with somebody who's
spontaneous, I think it raisesyour energy level dramatically.
I think it increases aconnection with people because
(26:14):
you're present.
If you're spontaneous, you'vegot to be watching where you're
going, because you don't knowwhere you're going, and I think
that you can create better bonds, you can create trust, you can
deepen your connections with aspontaneous relationship.
(26:35):
I think trust is reallyimportant and an adventurous
spirit requires trust.
If you're going to come, comeon, let's go over.
This way we're riding horses orwe're riding motorcycles or
we're running or riding bikes orwhatever, and you're saying,
come, follow me, I have to trustyou pretty blindly to say, all
(26:59):
right, let's go and just knowthat it's going to be okay and
there's not really a place for aplan and all of that.
And I think the spontaneousperson has an opportunity for
really moving forward withpersonal growth, because when
(27:21):
you're doing things new, goingoutside of your comfort zone,
going outside of your norm, youlearn about yourself.
You find out what you're madeof you, your norm, you learn
about yourself.
You'll find out what you'remade of.
You'll find out what you'recapable of Getting out of
comfort zones, I think is a huge, important part of growth and
you can plan that.
(27:42):
But I think a lot of times whenyou just make a decision, I'm
going to go for it, I'm going todo that thing that I can't do,
and I'm going to do it anyways,and I think a lot of spontaneity
is, I think, about beingwilling to fail and get back up
(28:04):
and do it again, and I thinkI've talked about this before,
but I think the idea of failingforward is powerful.
I think that being willing tofall on your face and get back
up again and learn a littlesomething from it and just keep
going, I think spontaneity isdefinitely an asset for that.
(28:28):
Now let's look at the downsideof the spontaneous side, though.
You know, spontaneous peopleare generally disorganized, they
can't find things, chaos, andthere's generally the bohemian,
spontaneous, fun person has gota lot of problems and chaos.
(28:50):
And you know there's a downsideof not having any kind of
structure if you want to haveany kind of professional
experience in your life and alot of time you get unforeseen
consequences because you didn'tplan for it, you didn't figure
it out, you didn't pay attention, you didn't pay the bill, the
lights got turned off, youdidn't pay the ticket, you got a
(29:12):
warrant, you weren't payingattention to where you were
going and you ran out of gas,whatever.
There's all kinds of unforeseenconsequences that come by being
spontaneous, especially ifyou're not prepared and aware.
I think spontaneous people tendto be impulsive and I think
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they tend to be making morerisky decisions.
Now there's a benefit to thatin some ways, especially if the
risk-reward equation generallythere's more reward to more risk
and if you're good at beingspontaneous you can capitalize
on that.
(29:55):
But I think a lot of times youknow you miss one big one and it
can cripple you, andfinancially especially, a lot of
spontaneous activities can justbe very expensive because you
didn't think of it through.
(30:15):
I think inconsistency is aproblem with being spontaneous,
because I think it can put astrain on a relationship after
the fun wears off a little bit.
It's fun for a while, but aftera while you get burned out.
You only have so much emotionalequity to spend on being
(30:39):
spontaneous.
There's a part of arelationship that requires
predictability and confidenceand consistency, and I don't
think that spontaneousness lendsitself to predictability.
So I think it can make somebodybe unreliable and that puts a
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strain on relationships.
I think a lot of timesspontaneous people are also
storytellers and they're willingto stretch things a little bit
and I think that can put astrain on a relationship.
I think sometimes you miss anopportunity, because you're
(31:21):
being so spontaneous, to reflecton your progress, on your
action, action on your plan.
I think sometimes you rushdecisions, you overlook details
because you're so busy beingreactive and you know the
planner may overdo, thinkingeverything out, but I think the
(31:44):
spontaneous one oftentimesmisses things.
I think you you overlookdetails.
Sometimes.
That can lead to mistakes oroversights or missed
opportunities.
And then, of course, I thinkyou get additional stress
because the spontaneous personcan oftentimes get themselves
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into a lot of jams and haveconflicts with relationships and
you know, a lot of timesunexpected things don't go the
way you want.
A lot of times they do and it'sfun, but sometimes they don't
and it can be very stressful.
So I think that both sides Ithink that both sides have their
(32:33):
benefit and their detriment andI think the key to a healthy
strategy for approaching lifethis way is to be capable of
making plans, to be mindful of aplan, but to have a willingness
(32:53):
to be spontaneous when the timeis right, I think, is going to
give you the best approach to beable to make the best of both
things, and I think that's wherewisdom comes in, that's where
discernment comes in.
Is figuring out, you know, isthis one better for me to create
(33:14):
a plan and a structure, or isit?
Let's see what happens?
And you know, I think thewell-balanced, healthy person is
going to have a combination ofboth of these.
So, anyways, those are mythoughts on the subject.
I hope you find it interestingand I look forward to seeing you
(33:36):
next time.
Thank you for supporting theHealthy Living Podcast.
I'm your host, joe Grumbine,and we'll see you next time.
Well, hello and welcome to the Healthy Living
Podcast.
I'm your host, joe Grumbine,and I'm happy to share some
thoughts with you guys today.
I am super grateful foreverybody who supported this
podcast and, as we continue togrow, I'm looking forward to not
(00:31):
only sharing more andinteresting topics, but more and
interesting guests.
If you're interested inparticipating as a guest, please
reach out.
You can generally leave amessage through the show notes
or my email is grumbinejoe atgmailcom, and you know you don't
have to be an expert.
(00:52):
You can come on and share yourexperience, products, anything
that ties us to a healthier lifemind, body, spirit and any
combination of the above.
And today I'm a little offtopic in some ways, because
(01:16):
usually I'm talking aboutsomething specific, specifically
related to a particular healthconcept.
This is a more general topic,but I think it's important.
In going through life, you meeta lot of different people, and
our social life, ourrelationships, are critical in
(01:41):
our health and we've talkedabout that numerous times
community and all of that, and Ithink it's important to focus
some attention on those things,and this also relates to just
accomplishing things, to settingtasks in motion all sorts of
(02:03):
elements that can be applied tohealth.
And so today I want to talkabout the differences and maybe
the strengths and weaknessesbetween the type of person who
is a planner, superhyper-focused on planning
everything to the T, and thenthe counterpoint to that, which
(02:25):
is the spontaneous one, and Ithink that there are benefits to
both sides.
That can dramatically affectour growth and our health and
our ability to learn, and it canaffect mind, body and spirit if
(02:45):
you really start looking at it,and I think a lot of the things
that we talk about have to dowith learning and accomplishing,
goal setting and achievingthings.
I think that's where healthultimately comes in.
So if you're lackluster andyou're not trying to do good or
(03:06):
better with your life, chancesare you won't and you'll
probably sit relatively stagnant.
You'll probably find yourselfin habits and ruts and maybe
good ones, maybe not, but Ithink the not good ones tend to
be a lot easier to fall intothan the better ones.
(03:26):
So first I want to talk aboutthe hyper planner and the
strengths and weaknesses thatcan come from that and, you know
, maybe to look at yourself andsee where do you fit into this.
I know I am a somewhat plannerand I like to think that there's
(03:50):
a balance between the two.
That would be the better way tobe, but there's extremes on all
sides and some people you knoware far to one side of a
spectrum.
So let's look at some positivesabout you know being a planner,
(04:12):
and maybe the first one wouldbe you know, you have some
clarity and direction.
You think about things.
You plan, meaning you actuallythink about what you want.
I think that that's critical ina healthy life, because if you
don't know what you want, howare you going to know if you get
it?
Happiness is highly connectedto health, and happiness is a
(04:37):
choice, I think, more thananything.
But it has to do with beingaware, being mindful, being in a
place where you know where youfit, in a place that you create,
but you also exist within.
So clarity and direction, Ithink, are important because you
(04:57):
have some sense of where you'regoing, you know where you are
and maybe you even know howyou're going to get there.
And goal setting I think aplanner definitely has an
advantage.
You know, if you say I'm hereand I want to get there, that's
(05:18):
my goal and you're thinkingabout it and you're a planner,
well, you're going to go.
Well, what can I do to get fromhere to there better, faster,
more stable, and I think thatyour planning can really create
a path to get to where you'regoing.
And I think planning creates astructured approach, creates a
(05:45):
structured approach.
So, if you think about it, ifyou're a planner, you're
thinking about the beginning,the middle and the end of your
goal or your task or your idea,whatever it is you're working on
.
And the chances are, if youcreate a plan, it's going to
have some kind of a structure toit.
It's going to make sense.
It's going to say, well, I'mgoing to start here, I'm going
(06:05):
to build this foundationalelement and then I'm going to
stand on top of that and thenI'm going to be able to reach
over to this other place orcreate this dynamic or this
relationship or build this tool,whatever it is, but there's
going to be a structure to it.
So you can sort of number one,you can look ahead and plan your
(06:26):
next moves better.
I think that there's a hugeadvantage in that.
I think that a lot of peoplejust sort of fake their way
through life and they just react, always reacting, and sometimes
being proactive.
I think, and many times beingproactive far outweighs being
reactive because you get to havemore choices when you're being
(06:51):
reactive.
Well, you have more goodchoices anyways.
When you're being reactive, youknow there's generally a lot
fewer options to get to whereyou want to go because you're
reacting to a situation ratherthan saying, well, I want to get
here, so I'm going to make thefirst move.
So I think that's good.
I think you really, when you'rea planner, you improve your
(07:15):
productivity.
I think you generally considertime management.
I think if you're not a planner, I think you inadvertently piss
a lot of time away.
I think we lose sight of whatwe're doing, where we spend our
time.
I think today, with theselittle square boxes, that
(07:36):
everybody spends their time onscrolling and YouTubing and all
the stuff that we do YouTubingand all the stuff that we do I
mean, hopefully, listening to aninteresting podcast is a good
use of your time reading a bookor writing a book or writing
poetry or music or whatever itis you're doing.
But I think when you're workingfrom a plan, somehow you think
(08:00):
about time more and again.
Is that always better?
I don't know.
We're looking at this right now.
I'm not necessarily going tocome to conclusions, but just
examine the situation.
I think you waste less time andenergy and efforts by having a
(08:21):
plan, because a lot of timesexcuse me, if you don't have a
plan, a lot of times you'llinadvertently say or do the same
thing over again or you'llforget a thing that you needed
to do and then you got to goback and undo a step.
And if you're looking at yourplan and you're looking at it on
(08:43):
paper in your mind on acomputer screen, however you're
doing it, I think it allows youto see pitfalls and where waste
would happen a lot easier ratherthan just jumping into it.
So I think there's definitely abenefit there, definitely a
benefit there.
(09:03):
I think, being proactive as aplanner, you have a benefit or
an advantage, because I thinkyou can anticipate your
challenges ahead of time.
You're going to see where's theobstacles, where's the
(09:27):
difficult spot going to come,how am I going to prepare for
that?
Do I need to train?
Do I need to save?
Do I need to dig a hole orbuild a fence or whatever it is
that is going to help youovercome this challenge.
What you're going to see thechallenge ahead of time, and I
think also you look at risks andmaybe come up with the plan B,
(09:50):
maybe come up with ways aroundpotential risks, and I think
that's an advantage to justcruising down the road, not
knowing what's around the cornerand hoping you're ready for it.
Knowing what's around thecorner and hoping you're ready
for it, I think the planner hasa confidence that you get from
your plan.
You are prepared, you'rethought out, you can walk
(10:15):
through life going okay, I'mready for this.
There's an advantage, I think,to that, I think that's a
strength and I think that, likein a situation like with my
nonprofit, as I'm articulatingour plan, I think it gives you I
(10:36):
don't know like a stakeholderassurance where you can say, hey
, you know, here's my vision,here's my plan, here's what I'm
going to do, and you can see itand look through my's, my plan,
here's what I'm going to do, andyou can see it and look through
my eyes and maybe feelconfident in what I'm looking to
do.
And I think a final point tothis might be the plan is going
(11:00):
to bring better teamcollaboration.
So, you know, if you got a guywho's motivated and spontaneous,
yeah, you can get peopletogether.
But if this person doesn'texecute well or, you know, maybe
he's fun and full of charismabut, you know, causes people to
(11:24):
have issues every now and again.
It's going to be a lot harderto get a team together to say,
all right, let's work together,let's collaborate on this.
So I think the planner is goingto have clear roles and
responsibilities.
I think that builds a betterteam.
I know I struggle with that alittle bit because I'm all about
(11:46):
freedom and I want to sort ofbubble up people's potentials
and I don't always see what theywant to do.
So I like to give people theopportunity, but in a lot of
ways people would rather be ledwith these clear roles and
responsibilities so they knowwhat they're getting into and
(12:08):
they don't have to think aboutit.
And then maybe finally,alignment and accountability.
So people know where you fitinto this plan.
You know if there's timelinesinvolved, you know if you're on
point or if you're behind theball.
There's accountability and Ithink really you can accomplish
(12:28):
more with a group this way.
Now let's look at somenegatives to the planner.
I think a lot of times plannersget stuck in their plan and you
can get overwhelmed and stressedand get seized up.
You know, sometimes when youplan, you just plan down to
(12:52):
these microscopic levels thatmaybe you don't need to.
You know, sometimes when youoverthink it you don't act.
And another piece is you canget overwhelmed.
You know, when you have toomany details, too many things to
(13:17):
pay attention to, too manythings to remember, and it can
be very overwhelming if you'relooking at it.
I think in some ways you cansort of look at it as to am I
looking through a microscope oram I looking through a telescope
or am I just looking through myeyes?
And you know the difference ofperspective that you get from
(13:38):
this.
So if you start looking at amicroscope, you start seeing all
the little teeny teeny holesand bits and pieces and bugs and
creatures and all the things.
And oh my God, it's a lot bugsand creatures and all the things
.
And oh my God, it's a lot.
And if you look through atelescope you can see so far
that you can see so many things.
You realize how huge everythingis.
It can also be overwhelmingSometimes.
(14:01):
Just looking through your owneyes and seeing what you can see
can be not so overwhelming.
I think when you're a hardcoreplanner, a lot of times you're
inflexible.
So you know we'd like to thinkwe can plan ahead and plan for
everything, but the truth is youdon't always see what's coming.
Sometimes you can have thegreatest plan and something will
(14:25):
change that will throweverything out of whack, and you
know you can create unduestress.
You can limit your options andopportunities.
You can cut out the possibilityfor you to pivot when you need
(14:45):
to because you're stuck in aplan, and I think sometimes that
can get in your way.
I think one of the biggestproblems with the planners is
what they call analysisparalysis.
I think you know they justspend day I guess it would be
day.
I'm not so much of a hardcoreplanner, I'm a somewhat planner,
(15:06):
but I can remember working onwhen I set up my nonprofit, the
Human Solution International,and when we were originally
setting the thing up I needed toget it set up because I was
getting ready to go to a courtbattle with the government over
me providing cannabis medicineto people and I was facing
(15:28):
prison time over this and webuilt this group that was going
to offer support to people and Iwas facing prison time over
this and we built this groupthat was going to offer support
to people going through similarcases.
And I had all these wonderfulpeople that came from different
groups and different backgroundsand we all agreed to create
this entity, this nonprofit.
But I had one or two peoplethat were just so stuck on
(15:51):
planning and they wanted to finetune everything, get those
bylaws perfect, get all thelittle things, and finally I was
like no, we got to go, we gotto file this thing and we got to
start and we'll figure out onthe way.
And I'm so glad I did, becauseI don't think we ever would have
launched the thing and both ofthe people involved ended up not
(16:14):
performing and fell off thetrack early on.
So I think inaction is a bigdeal.
I think also, as we discussed alittle bit, missed
opportunities.
I think when you plan so much,there's opportunities that come
(16:37):
up.
Not only do you maybe limitchoices to get away from a
problem, but also to moveyourself to an opportunity and
take advantage of a situationthat happens briefly.
And you know, I think that'sdefinitely a downside of being a
(16:59):
planner.
I think, again, this is alittle bit rehashing it, but
neglecting execution.
You know being execution, youknow planning versus doing.
I think a lot of times havingthe meeting is important, maybe
(17:19):
the first time around, butsometimes you go and do the
thing and then you have themeeting instead of have the
meeting and then maybe do thething, and I think that's
important.
I think talking about things isgenerally not doing them.
And I think it's important totalk about a thing if you're
going to do it to a point,especially if you're going to be
doing it with other people, ifyou're part of a team, but
(17:45):
talking about it and talkingabout it and talking about it,
talking about it and talkingabout it and talking about it
generally it's not doing it.
And then I think in a lot ofways you know you can get
delayed results.
You spend so much time planningand again, it might work for
you, your plan might get youthere quicker, but I think
sometimes it goes the otherdirection.
I think you spend so much timeplanning things that you're
(18:10):
spending a lot of the time thatyou would be doing, thinking
about and talking about andplanning what you're going to do
.
Another negative side again isinflexibility.
I think that you know you getstuck in this rigid structure,
this plan that says I got to dothis or it's not going to work,
(18:31):
or I won't do it unless I can doit this way, and I think that,
again, the inability to adaptdoes far more harm than good is
the way I see it.
I think sometimes planners alsohave a fear of failure.
I think that you know you setin your mind an expectation,
(18:54):
excuse me.
You set in your mind how it'sgoing to go and you're
anticipating things and you'vegot it all laid out, you've got
it all planned out and sometimes, even when you know a little
thing goes wrong.
I think sometimes you canreally freak out and have this
fear of failure and I thinkmaybe finally, overplanning can
(19:20):
strain relationships.
I think that if you insist onyour plan, your way or the
highway, it puts friction into acollaboration.
I think it can create anenvironment that makes it
difficult to work together andstrategize and I think,
(19:45):
ultimately, an overly detailedplan can complicate
communication, because if youare the person who developed the
plan, you create the plan, youput it out there and you just
think that everybody's going toread it, listen, follow and if
they don't, they're not doing itright.
(20:07):
And you know there's really nota lot of room to discuss a plan
once everybody is on board withthe plan, because if you're not
going to change it, then whatis there to discuss, and so I
think overall, um, being aplanner has a lot of benefits,
(20:30):
but I think that taking it toofar and I think that not being
flexible is really the thingthat gets most.
It can be applied to a diet, itcan be applied to health goals,
(20:55):
meaning fitness goals, all ofthese things that we talk about,
like what I've been dealingwith, solving the cancer problem
.
I've done a lot of research butthe you know, the truth is you
got to act, you got to do things, you got to take risks, you got
to get out there and, you know,put things to the test.
(21:19):
So I think that that'sdefinitely.
There are strengths andweaknesses to being an extra
planner.
In an extra planner, the othercounterpoint to that, the
opposite side of that coin, isbeing spontaneous, and the
spontaneous person is excitingand fun and brings with them
(21:50):
endless opportunities, becauseyou just never know what they're
going to do.
But there's also a lot ofchallenges that comes with this,
and I know that I've been veryspontaneous in my life and it's
brought me plenty of good things, but it's also got me in a lot
(22:11):
of trouble, and so let's firstlook at the positives that would
be involved with beingspontaneous.
So spontaneous person isgenerally very flexible.
You're ready for whatever comesyour way, because you don't
know what's going to come yourway and you don't really have a
plan, and so you say, well, I'mgoing to get up and see what
(22:33):
happens.
And so you're adaptable, you'reopen to opportunities.
You know you're out therelooking for opportunities.
I think that's very positive.
I think that a lot of times theperson who doesn't plan but is
aware and maybe just knows whatthey want, can have an advantage
in a lot of situations.
(22:55):
I think creativity really relieson spontaneity.
I think that if you're creative, you have to be able to
improvise, you have to be ableto flow, you have to be able to.
You know, I don't think apainter or a sculptor or a
(23:19):
musician necessarily goes I'mgoing to write this song and
it's going to be this way andI'm going to structure this
thing and I'm going to do it.
Maybe you can, and I'm sureprobably some people do, but I
(23:39):
think generally when we're beingartistic and creative, we flow,
we just let it happen and openup that element that allows
possibly divine revelation orour inner self or, you know,
connecting with whatever energythat we seek to.
(24:01):
I think you can only do that ifyou're open to it and and
there's a spontaneity that'srequired for that.
I think that spontaneousthinking, I think it fosters
innovation Because, instead ofbeing stuck in a plan and again,
(24:23):
that's not necessarily a badthing, but you're able to
entertain the notion of thingsthat might not be possible and
sometimes you can explore anddiscover something new because
you're not living within thebounds of a plan or structure.
(24:45):
Sometimes you can have a freshperspective.
You know you jump in and trysomething new that you've never
done before.
I think it can be inspirational.
You know you can.
Just let's try this and jump inand try it and not being afraid
to fail.
I think spontaneity is fun andexciting.
(25:08):
I think it's really brings outthe juice of life.
I think that when you thinkabout what makes life enjoyable,
worth living, I thinkspontaneity is a big part of
that and I think without someelement of spontaneity, life can
(25:29):
become rigid and boring ordifficult, and I think there's a
joy that comes from spontaneity, that only comes from
spontaneity.
You know there's a thrill.
I think you can create somebeautiful memories through
(25:52):
spontaneity.
I think spontaneity isenergizing.
I think when you go out on anadventure, or if you're with
somebody especially, I think ifyou're with somebody who's
spontaneous, I think it raisesyour energy level dramatically.
I think it increases aconnection with people because
(26:14):
you're present.
If you're spontaneous, you'vegot to be watching where you're
going, because you don't knowwhere you're going, and I think
that you can create better bonds, you can create trust, you can
deepen your connections with aspontaneous relationship.
(26:35):
I think trust is reallyimportant and an adventurous
spirit requires trust.
If you're going to come, comeon, let's go over.
This way we're riding horses orwe're riding motorcycles or
we're running or riding bikes orwhatever, and you're saying,
come, follow me, I have to trustyou pretty blindly to say, all
(26:59):
right, let's go and just knowthat it's going to be okay and
there's not really a place for aplan and all of that.
And I think the spontaneousperson has an opportunity for
really moving forward withpersonal growth, because when
(27:21):
you're doing things new, goingoutside of your comfort zone,
going outside of your norm, youlearn about yourself.
You find out what you're madeof you, your norm, you learn
about yourself.
You'll find out what you'remade of.
You'll find out what you'recapable of Getting out of
comfort zones, I think is a huge, important part of growth and
you can plan that.
(27:42):
But I think a lot of times whenyou just make a decision, I'm
going to go for it, I'm going todo that thing that I can't do,
and I'm going to do it anyways,and I think a lot of spontaneity
is, I think, about beingwilling to fail and get back up
(28:04):
and do it again, and I thinkI've talked about this before,
but I think the idea of failingforward is powerful.
I think that being willing tofall on your face and get back
up again and learn a littlesomething from it and just keep
going, I think spontaneity isdefinitely an asset for that.
(28:28):
Now let's look at the downsideof the spontaneous side, though.
You know, spontaneous peopleare generally disorganized, they
can't find things, chaos, andthere's generally the bohemian,
spontaneous, fun person has gota lot of problems and chaos.
(28:50):
And you know there's a downsideof not having any kind of
structure if you want to haveany kind of professional
experience in your life and alot of time you get unforeseen
consequences because you didn'tplan for it, you didn't figure
it out, you didn't pay attention, you didn't pay the bill, the
lights got turned off, youdidn't pay the ticket, you got a
(29:12):
warrant, you weren't payingattention to where you were
going and you ran out of gas,whatever.
There's all kinds of unforeseenconsequences that come by being
spontaneous, especially ifyou're not prepared and aware.
I think spontaneous people tendto be impulsive and I think
(29:35):
they tend to be making morerisky decisions.
Now there's a benefit to thatin some ways, especially if the
risk-reward equation generallythere's more reward to more risk
and if you're good at beingspontaneous you can capitalize
on that.
(29:55):
But I think a lot of times youknow you miss one big one and it
can cripple you, andfinancially especially, a lot of
spontaneous activities can justbe very expensive because you
didn't think of it through.
(30:15):
I think inconsistency is aproblem with being spontaneous,
because I think it can put astrain on a relationship after
the fun wears off a little bit.
It's fun for a while, but aftera while you get burned out.
You only have so much emotionalequity to spend on being
(30:39):
spontaneous.
There's a part of arelationship that requires
predictability and confidenceand consistency, and I don't
think that spontaneousness lendsitself to predictability.
So I think it can make somebodybe unreliable and that puts a
(31:01):
strain on relationships.
I think a lot of timesspontaneous people are also
storytellers and they're willingto stretch things a little bit
and I think that can put astrain on a relationship.
I think sometimes you miss anopportunity, because you're
(31:21):
being so spontaneous, to reflecton your progress, on your
action, action on your plan.
I think sometimes you rushdecisions, you overlook details
because you're so busy beingreactive and you know the
planner may overdo, thinkingeverything out, but I think the
(31:44):
spontaneous one oftentimesmisses things.
I think you you overlookdetails.
Sometimes.
That can lead to mistakes oroversights or missed
opportunities.
And then, of course, I thinkyou get additional stress
because the spontaneous personcan oftentimes get themselves
(32:06):
into a lot of jams and haveconflicts with relationships and
you know, a lot of timesunexpected things don't go the
way you want.
A lot of times they do and it'sfun, but sometimes they don't
and it can be very stressful.
So I think that both sides Ithink that both sides have their
(32:33):
benefit and their detriment andI think the key to a healthy
strategy for approaching lifethis way is to be capable of
making plans, to be mindful of aplan, but to have a willingness
(32:53):
to be spontaneous when the timeis right, I think, is going to
give you the best approach to beable to make the best of both
things, and I think that's wherewisdom comes in, that's where
discernment comes in.
Is figuring out, you know, isthis one better for me to create
(33:14):
a plan and a structure, or isit?
Let's see what happens?
And you know, I think thewell-balanced, healthy person is
going to have a combination ofboth of these.
So, anyways, those are mythoughts on the subject.
I hope you find it interestingand I look forward to seeing you
(33:36):
next time.
Thank you for supporting theHealthy Living Podcast.
I'm your host, joe Grumbine,and we'll see you next time.
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