Why Plan B is As Important As Plan A–the Wisdom in Having Alternative Plans

The lack of plan B and C in the lives of people is shocking—and this is the cause of the many difficulties or depression people inevitably find themselves in life.

One thing that is certain about life which will always remain the same is the capriciousness of life.

You do not get exactly what you want or exactly what you think you deserve. There is always going to be a slight or huge variation between conception and reality. That is the fuckery, albeit, the beauty of life.

My friend who is turning 39 this year had a solid plan for her life—the problem is that, it was just plan A, she did not have another solid plan—called plan B or C and currently she has to come up with these alternative plans as soon as possible or face the consequences of the non-fulfillment of plan A without any real substitute.

Her plan A and only plan, roughly captured, was:

1.She will complete her education
2.Get a well-paying job with the government (Bank of Ghana was her target)
3.And then build her own house
4.And get a handsome, faultless, well doing, intelligent man to marry her
5.They will then have 3 children and live happily ever after

By 36, all these should have happened for her per her plan.
She is now going to turn 39—she has completed university but unemployed, has no house (lives with annoying Auntie), she has no boyfriend (she claims she is tired of the douchebag men around) let alone a husband, and she does not even have a child—talk of 3 children.

She is drowning in confusion and depression. She can’t be happy and the reason is obvious—her plans, though beautiful, did not make room for alternatives.

I have plan A, B, C and D for all things important to me—including career. Because, rarely does A turn up exactly how you want it.

Career-wise, my plan A was to become a lawyer, plan B was to become a writer if A did not work, plan C was to become law lecturer if A and B did not work—and plan C was to become a life coach or some sort of philosopher/teacher if A and B did not work. Even there was a plan D, to become a traveller/wanderer if A, B and C failed.

And I made sure I acquired, simultaneously, skills and enough expertise/knowledge in all these to enable a quick fall back.

It’s completely acceptable that your plan B can be the opposite of plan A—at least you have recognised that you don’t control all the elements of your plan and therefore when the coin turns the other way, you still can smile to it.

A lot of people are facing this same challenge in life. They are fixated on a path that is closed and by the time they realize, it would be too late to take another path.

This is why I say, “only a fool knows of just one path to his or her home.”

What are your plan A, B and C?