Chapter 14 3.g To plan, or not to plan, that is the question

Applying Shakespeare's "To be, or not to be, is a question." Many times, the choice we face is "To plan, or not to plan, is a question." In most cases, the plan always necessary.My favorite saying about planning is this one: "We do not plan to fail, we fail to plan." (1) Prerequisites for the success of the plan: the goal is realistic and feasible According to the dictionary, the so-called success is the achievement of expected goals.This is what I think is the most succinct, clearest, and most side-effect-free definition of "success."With the expected goals, each implementation step can be reversed, and finally a plan will naturally be formed.All plans that are actually implemented to the end are because their goals are realistic and feasible.

There is a saying that impressed me deeply, saying, "There is only one kind of failure, and that is to give up halfway." However, another fact should also be impressive-persistence to the end may not necessarily lead to success.If a person's goal is to create a perpetual motion machine or refine the elixir of immortality, no matter how persistent he is, it is theoretically meaningless, because such a goal is not realistic.It is also worth noting that some goals, which can eventually be achieved through perseverance, are still unrealistic for a person with a finite life span.For example, the human dream of being able to soar in the sky like a bird is not an idea that only began to exist in the past one hundred or two hundred years.In fact, before the Wright brothers made their first successful test flight in December 1903 at the beginning of the last century, countless people in the long history of mankind have tried to fly in various ways-many of them They were all thrown to death, and those who survived basically died in depression.

I use the above example to illustrate the problem, and there is a reason for it.Once, a classmate came to ask me my opinion on the possibility of him studying abroad.After I carefully understood his current situation, goals, and the preparation time he had, I told him, "It is impossible for you to complete such a leap in half a year. Let me tell you, in your situation, It will take at least two more years." I saw his surprised expression, but ignored it, and continued, "I see, you'd better stop wasting your time and do something practical." I used to take pleasure in "encouraging others in everything", but this time I poured not cold water, but a basin full of water.The classmate showed a disappointed expression, and said reluctantly, "Nothing is impossible! Hundreds of years ago, people didn't believe that people could fly into the sky. Hasn't it been proved that they are stupid?" I had to smile bitterly, "How many years can you live? Didn't you tell me just now that you only have six months? I asked you to spend two years, but you said it was impossible..." The student's anger suddenly broke out , almost yelling at me, "I don't think you are worthy of being a teacher at all, you can't help at all, it's useless!" I think, I should shut up.

I know that classmate's anger was not aimed at me in essence, it was just that he was hit by reality to the point of losing control at that moment.I don't see any difference between "well-intentioned comfort or encouragement" and "hypocrisy" or "deceit" at a time like this.He was angry not because I told the truth, but because I didn't hear what he wanted to hear.However, what I want to say here is that in real life, we can see many such vivid examples of rejecting reality. I think that any calm person does not hope that he will become like that one day.

In fact, for most people, almost nothing that needs to be done is "unprecedented and never seen again".According to the law of normal distribution, less than 1% of people have the opportunity to pursue such a goal that everyone looks up to.For a normal person like me, the way to prove that my goal is realistic is relatively simple: 1) someone has already done it; 2) I am not too far away from that person. However, such two simple metrics require some explanation. "Someone has already done it" does not necessarily mean that I can do it too.I also wonder how long it took him to do it?By what means?What is the difference between me and him?Which ones I really simply can't get past?Where is my comparative advantage?Is it possible for me to compensate for my relative deficiency in some way?It may take more questions to be sure that my goals are indeed realistic and achievable.

Things are often not as simple as imagined.More often than not, the embarrassment we face is that if we don't start to take action, we have no way of judging whether the goal is really feasible, or conversely, whether the goal is really not feasible.Therefore, it is often only after starting to act that a correct judgment can be made.In the process of action, if it is found that the established goal is indeed unrealistic and unfeasible, then giving up halfway not only does not mean failure, but also means that the decision maker is extremely rational. Time is wasted, often because 1) the goal is unrealistic or not feasible at the moment; 2) the implementation strategy formulated to achieve the goal is wrong.Therefore, in order not to waste time, when doing anything, you must first carefully examine these two conditions.We are always told to "think twice" about everything, but few people tell us what we should think about at least three times?My experience is that before acting, thinking twice -- far more than just three times -- the above two conditions will greatly reduce the waste of time.

In fact, "wasting time" is a more concise, accurate, intuitive and far-reaching description of the sad ending than "success, failure". The phrase "wasting time" is process-based, and the phrase "successfully fails" is outcome-based.For a person of flesh and blood, there is actually only one final result, which is death.Failure is never the result, because, most of the time, for most people, failure does not mean death.When people do things, no matter whether they succeed or fail, they usually continue to live.To survive means to say, to keep doing many other things.The reason why people always say, "Failure is the mother of success" is probably from a simple experience: a person who has experienced more failures has relatively richer experience, and then it is difficult to make mistakes. --The premise is that experience is best to have some effect on yourself before you die.

(2) Long-term planning is an ability that needs to be learned through practice I once gave a lecture in a university, and by the way, I mentioned that my career span is too large: I studied accounting in college, worked in sales after graduation, and went to New Oriental to teach English after many years, and now I am a freelancer... I don’t know what I will do in the future. What will I do, anyway, what I know is that one day I will definitely do something that will surprise the people around me and even myself. In fact, I personally don't believe in career planning.Maybe it's my bad chance.When I graduated from college, I didn't have any professional consultants around me, and I was so confused that I didn't even know who to ask.But today, I am surrounded by well-known senior career planning masters, and no one has given me any advice in this regard.

When I was very young, I knew that some people could make plans that lasted decades or even a lifetime, and then executed them meticulously.Later, watching the movie adaptation of Stephen King's novel, I once again felt that such a powerful character must exist somewhere in the world, but it's not me anyway. For quite a long time, I always felt that I couldn't help but follow the trend.When I was in college, it was popular to study double degrees, so I went to Jilin University to get a second degree in "International Economics and Relations"—what's the use?From graduation to today, not to mention the certificate of the second degree, even the undergraduate diploma of the original major has never been used once.At that time, it was still popular for senior students to take a driver's license test. Of course, I also managed to get some money and went to learn one. At that time, my classmates were very envious-but what's the use?When I made a lot of money after graduation, I found that I was always shuttling between several cities, and buying a car was completely unnecessary. Later, I finally settled down and found that it is more convenient and efficient to take a taxi, so I have not used that driver’s license so far. Well, do the math, there has been no annual inspection for 12 years...

Many years ago, what Cui Jian said in an interview woke me up instantly."Plans don't always change fast," he said.Hearing this sentence, I suddenly got goosebumps all over my body.I took a look at myself and found that one of the most important reasons why all my plans, without exception, failed to materialize in the end is that my plans are always very long-term.I think it is probably because I have watched too many novels and movies, and I have forgotten who I am. However, after learning from the pain, I still feel that no matter how many changes there are, there should always be plans.However, changes should be considered when planning.So, I began to think seriously, thinking how long is it suitable for me to make a plan for my own situation?In other words, how long should the deadline of each plan be set so that it can be implemented smoothly with my ordinary or even mediocre ability and talent?

I tried for a year, and found that I was not even able to complete the one-year plan, so I once again calmly accepted the fact that my talent was mediocre, and shortened the deadline to a week in one breath.I finally found that if the time limit for a plan is only one week, it is easy for me to stick to it, and I can often complete it excellently.This discovery made me very happy, because I found that I could still do something.Moreover, as time goes by, I can slowly extend the deadline, two weeks, one month, and even specify a quarterly plan! It wasn't until I was in my late thirties that I carefully extended my time frame for planning to a year.To this day, I still use a maximum of one year as the maximum period for planning.Seven years ago (2000), I spent half a year preparing for various exams and then went to New Oriental to apply for a job; after many twists and turns, I finally started to give lectures at New Oriental, and it took me a year to steadily become the best foreign department and was evaluated by students as the best. Good teacher; three years later, I spent a year preparing to leave New Oriental - because starting a business requires a lot of preparation; then I found that one year was not enough, so I spent another year seriously looking for the direction; I I just finished planning what things I have to do this year... (It's funny, for so many years, for me, April Fool's Day is the beginning of my year). Planning is a must, and goals should of course be definite.Generally speaking, the shorter the goal, the easier it is to be clear.The clearer the goal, the easier it is to achieve.Of course there should be ideals, but ideals are often too far away, so that we can't always see them clearly.But fortunately, the so-called journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. What we have to do is to take every step well and step on it firmly enough.As for the end point thousands of miles away, since you can't even see it, you don't need to spend time thinking about it, and it's useless to think about it.It is good to be optimistic in various ways-optimism is the accumulated experience that can only be obtained through hard work and struggle. Therefore, I simply use my own experience to draw a conclusion that suits me: no one can give me career planning.In addition to my stubborn personality that makes it impossible for me to put my destiny in the hands of others, another reason is that experience has taught me the hard truth: life itself is full of surprises, and there are always surprises that cannot be added. the point. Reading always brings pleasure.When I was thinking about this, an article brought to me by the google search engine mentioned that John Kramboz of Stanford University wrote a book "Luck is no accident". (This old man does not know how many books he has written in his life, so you might as well check out his book list on Amazon).When referring to himself in this book, he said, "My whole life and career have been affected by unexpected events." And his investigation found that at the age of thirty-five, he was still being himself at the age of 18. The proportion of people who want to do the most when they are in the whole sample group is even small enough to be negligible. Therefore, when making plans, you need to know one thing: it is obviously correct and necessary to make long-term plans, but not everyone has the ability to make long-term plans.This is a kind of ability, and it is almost one of the most important abilities. However, it requires struggle, hard work, and needs to start bit by bit.Don't start making overly long-term plans as soon as you come up.It's not easy to make even a one-week plan -- if you've actually started doing it, as I did.Don't be ignorant and fearless.However, there is no need to feel panic, this is an ability that can be obtained as long as you work hard-rest assured, no one is born, it is all acquired. So, if you're confused about your future, trust me you're not alone.However, just being confused doesn't mean you have to be overwhelmed.Seeing flowers in the fog, no one can see clearly, and God didn't give us any extra special equipment when we were born.However, I believe that as long as you keep going, you can always come to a place where flowers bloom, and there, no matter how foggy it is, you can always see those flowers, because it is close enough - close enough Sometimes, even if you can't see the flowers, you can still smell the flowers. (3) Sometimes planning is not necessary It is estimated that no one will deny the importance of planning.All time management books will introduce in detail the basic steps and skills of making plans and implementing them.But the question is, why have you bought so many such books and prepared to follow the advice of those experts so many times, but in the end without exception?There are many reasons for this, and one of the most important ones may be this: planning is important, but action is more important. If you want to do things, of course you have to act.Action is the most effective and direct way of changing yourself.In many cases, as long as you start to act, even if there is no plan in advance, there will often be gains.But conversely, a plan without action is certainly meaningless. The reason why there is no need to plan in many cases is that most plans are actually very simple.For example, if you want to exercise, the plan can be stated clearly in just one sentence: "Jog for an hour every morning." There is no need to think about "How long should I keep going?" Because the answer is very simple: a lifetime, or, Hold on for as long as you can.For another example, if you want to memorize words, then the plan is very simple, "recite 50 words a day" - this is easier, because you don't have to stick to it for a lifetime, if you are a sophomore student, then it is estimated that thirty days After that, you will be able to pass the College English Test Band 4, because you don’t have to expect to get a full score; if you are a third-year student, then, after six weeks, you probably already have the strength to get a high TOEFL score Yes, because you didn't start studying until you were promoted to junior year. --But actually?Two months have passed, and looking back, I only recited 150 words... Sometimes, planning can be a little more complicated.For example, if you want to lose weight, in addition to doing aerobic exercise such as jogging every day, there may be some other requirements.For example, don’t eat fried foods (but all fried foods are delicious!); eat smaller meals (however, I feel hungry!); replace staple food with fruits and vegetables (but I want to eat meat!); go to bed on time (However, there is an Oscar awards ceremony broadcast globally this morning...).After two months have passed, you will find that you don’t run much because you are obsessed with sleeping in. You steal a lot of fried food without telling the coach; Treating guests can't spoil the fun, so I have been to barbecue restaurants many times; of course, not only watched the broadcast of the Oscars award ceremony, but also watched a lot of American dramas, and because of this, I had to stay up late to finish what I needed to do...Of course, the next day So be sure to sleep in! Did you see it?No matter how simple or complex a plan is, lack of action is doomed to failure or failure.My personal experience is that there are times when it pays to deliberately not plan at all.I started going to the gym a few years ago without any goals or plans.Because, there's not much need to think about that.Anyway, exercise is better than no exercise, and health is the most important thing.So, I only did one thing - persist.There were a few short breaks in between as I just couldn't find the time and energy, but once the back-of-the-head phase passed, I started going to the gym regularly again.There are times when I don't want to go, but I know it's just my brain thinking, not mine - as long as you realize this, there is no struggle, just go straight from home to the gym That's it. Today, a few years later, I feel that it is necessary for me to formulate a more professional fitness plan for myself.Because I want to make good use of the precious free time in recent months (after the age of thirty, the free time is getting less and less).As I pulled out the pen and paper and kept listing the specifics, I realized this important truth: In fact, when I first started exercising a few years ago, I was actually completely incapable of formulating an effective exercise program!At that time, it was impossible for me to know which muscle groups I had were relatively strong, so I just needed to practice normally; which muscle groups were my weak points and were particularly difficult to practice, but now I had to consciously strengthen them.Today, a few years later, I already know how to reasonably arrange the ratio of aerobic training and anaerobic training, and also know when I am in the best state... I cite this example to make one thing clear: In many cases, there are two reasons why there is no need to plan: In addition to the aforementioned "most plans are actually very simple", the other is "initial state Under these conditions, we often do not actually have the ability to formulate reasonable and effective plans.”Because doing anything, we may have to go through the same process: gradually familiarize yourself, explore carefully, fail and fail again, seriously reflect, make a comeback, and succeed.And at the beginning when you didn't even have a basic understanding, the plans that were formulated were probably just empty talk. So, in most cases, my advice is this: If you want to change yourself, or your current unsatisfactory situation, keep it simple-find someone who you think should change you. Take action and just do it.Don't be afraid of hitting a wall, don't be afraid of failure, it is a process that must be experienced.Still the same sentence, failure is not terrible, because you always have to fail many times, and you are not the only one who fails in the whole world, what are you afraid of?The key is to learn from each setback.As long as you can learn lessons and adjust yourself, that is progress.Most of what we do in our life is a process of trial and error. For life, no one can give a universal formula like explaining mathematics.Always remember, immediate action is the most important thing. Of course, there are times when you have to delay your actions.For example, when you decide to buy a trendy mobile phone, delaying it for three months will allow you to enjoy a lower price; You realize that the original aesthetics are actually very problematic.My personal experience is that, for me personally, the advice of "do it now" definitely does not apply to all large-scale spending activities, and even all other activities involving money such as investing.On the contrary, in this case, you must procrastinate, and the longer the better - this is just my personal experience.