When You Make a Backup Plan, You Plan to Fail
Success can’t come if you don’t bet on yourself
Author’s Note: I actually wanted to title this piece Plan B, as in Bullshit, but I Googled that gem and found out it wasn’t terribly original.
If you’ve ever expressed a dream, you’ve almost certainly had someone attempt to temper it.
“Be realistic,” they said.
“The real world doesn’t work like that,” they warned.
“Have a Plan B,” they implored.
The people giving you such advice, though they surely love you (unless it’s a school counselor, in which case, fork ‘em), don’t truly know of what they speak.
People follow conventions. Despite our inner voices pleading otherwise, we will go along to get along, we will sell ourselves short for convenience, we will shut our mouths — or alternatively, say demonstrably stupid shit — to fit into groups.
It’s common to follow norms because it’s simply easy. Also, norm-busting is scary.
Those folks in your life who tell you to stick to conventions and norms only say it because they did it. Most likely, things worked out for them, more or less.
But take a good look at those people. Probably, they didn’t see their richest dreams come true.
They likely lived middle-of-the-road lives. They’re not disruptors. They didn’t change the game.
Shit! They were probably too scared to play the game, so they took some well-meaning — but bad — advice, got a job at the Post Office or a safe college degree and toiled away their best years.
Middle-of-the-road lives might be fine. Joy and pain enters those lives like any other. But is a middle-of-the-road, supposedly safe, life what you really want?
We all have to die. Don’t you want to truly live?
I’m here to bust some norms for you:
- Forget about fallback plans!
- Backup plans are baloney!
- Plan B is a plan to fail!
We Must Not Let Fear Choose Our Paths
No matter your current life phase, you have an unwritten chapter before you.
One day, when that chapter has been written, it may tell of successes or failures. Most likely, since you’re human like the rest of us, it will tell of both.
Yet, the potential for failure may give you fear, so you might say, “I’d better make a Plan B, just in case. Ya never know!”
Sadly, the trouble with Plan Bs and fallbacks is that they consume time, energy, and focus. They ultimately smother your Plan A, your grandest visions, your truest dreams!
Frankly, Plan B becomes an easy excuse to shrug and say, “Whoa! My family was right. My dream is hard. I better stick with this 9-to-5 gig and try to become an assistant manager or something. At least, there’s a 401k.”
Don’t Take It from Me — Take It from Researchers
In 2016, two researchers — Jishae Shin from the Wisconsin School of Business and Katherine L. Milkman from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School — tested whether backup plans helped or harmed.
Through controlled experiments with human subjects, the pair discovered that a Plan B’s existence reduced participants’ desire to complete Plan A, which, in the experiment, was not even terribly demanding.
Clearly, the backup plan wants you to fall in line and sell yourself short. Please don’t!
Please live your best life!
5 Tips to Help You Naturally Stick with Plan A
So, what now? What if you’ve already been living a Plan B life? If you’re ready to jump to an exceptional, fulfilling path, try these tips:
- Listen to your voice. It’s the only way to find your path and live your life.
- Remember that adversity enters every life, and assume you’ll face yours like a champion. You might falter. You might fail, but failure is a temporary condition — something from which to learn, something upon which to improve.
- Get comfortable with holding unconventional opinions. Be prepared to politely stand your ground at dinner parties and family gatherings.
- Cultivate a belief in yourself. This will take repeated practice, but you’ll be glad you did it. Success as an entrepreneur, writer, artist, performer or in any dream-centered endeavor begins with a rich self-belief.
- Internalize the fact that big visions take years to come to fruition, and happiness is found in the daily process, not at the goal line. If you’re not happy in what you do each day, you probably need a different Plan A.
At all times, it’s okay to change course. You’re not married to any path, especially if it’s some other person’s halfhearted fallback.
Now, get out there! Chase your vision! I believe in you! Keep pushing and building your belief in yourself!
Once, Regi Brittain didn’t fully believe in himself. Those days are gone.