Plan B?

I’ve never been a fan of backup plans.

Despite how methodical and analytical I can be at times, when I’m trying to achieve a goal that I really want to attain, I usually adopt an all-or-nothing attitude. It’s like I pour all of my energy into setting out to do what I plan to accomplish, and I throw all of my hope into believing that it will happen.

That is not to say that I don’t ever think about how the state of affairs would be or a possible plan of action should I fall short of my goal. No, I do have a . . . theoretical Plan B of some sort, I guess. But I don’t really construct a safety net out of it. It’s more something that I hazily formulate and hope that I never have to take back out and reexamine. Part of my reasoning, I guess, is this: What’s the use of Plan B when Plan A is the only thing in your sights? Why plan for a course of action that you never intend to take? Why put any energy into formulating your own personal second best? I figure if Plan A falls through, Plan B will take place by default.

Let me back up and say that this is not like . . . military strategy or a rescue operation or investing money or anything where anyone’s life/well being would be at stake. I do think Plan Bs are helpful with event planning and such, though. Having a fall festival or whatever in the rain is not cool. But I’m not talking about any of that. I’m talking about personal/academic/career goals that I’ve set for myself. I have a little theory that if you really want something, part of making it happen is believing that it will. And for me, (I can only speak for myself) carefully crafting a Plan B represents not believing in Plan A wholeheartedly.

I know that may sound . . . kind of reckless to some. And in a way, I guess it is. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, right? And maybe it’s just that I haven’t lived long enough to experience being crushed by failure. But so far, putting all my eggs in one basket (caveat: a carefully chosen basket) has been what drives me to do everything in my power, with God’s guidance, to make it happen.

My main example of this is the semester I spent in Spain. I set a goal, and I did everything in my power to meet it. My parents aren’t Sam Waltons, so knew I was going to be funding this puppy on my own. I applied for every scholarship I could get my hands on. Did I think about what I was going to do if I didn’t earn and win enough money? Not really. Plan B was “If I don’t get enough money, I just won’t go. I’ll finish out the school year here.” But the weird thing is, I found that money came my way from places I didn’t even solicit. It’s like when your plans and God’s plans align and mesh with your desire to do them, I feel like God does everything to make sure they happen. You know the rest—I spent a semester in Spain and had enough money to support myself as well as extra money to travel around while I was there.

There’s a little something in the works . . . and though I don’t know how it’s going to pan out, I’m not going to bother with Plan B. I’m putting all my eggs in one basket, and I have faith that God’s not going to let them fall out and get splattered all over the road while I’m skipping along to Grandma’s house.