What’s In A Plan?

“You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan at all. No plan. You know why? If you make a plan, life never works out that way…that’s why people shouldn’t make plans. With no plan, nothing can go wrong and if something spins out of control, it doesn’t matter… none of it f*cking matters. Got it?” ~ Parasite (movie)

To plan or not to plan, that is the question that is front and center in the minds of all citizens of Earth in the wake of the still expanding Coronavirus outbreak, myself included. Regardless of the country you are in, the type of job you have, your age and health background, the social life you lead or whether you’re an avid traveler or not, plans you’ve made have already been or likely will be negatively impacted. 

The irony is that planning makes the world go ’round. And if a goal without a plan is just a wish, then obviously the answer is to plan. Planning allows for perceived control a situation and, presumably, a best possible outcome. Planning lets you set up future events with which you’ll look forward to until the events arrive. Planning helps arrange your work so you can be more efficient and effective. Planning is perfect, until the unforeseen, I’m looking at (but avoiding as best as possible) you, Coronavirus. 

Personally, I am very much a planner now, but I didn’t used to be. I liked the unexpected and frequently, often to a fault, kept all my options open til the last second before committing to anything. This was part of my general “say yes” approach to living and I resisted plans that locked me into anything. Over time, both personally and professionally, I have become a planner and my life is certainly better for it, especially for travel. But, in the wake of massive plan-wreckers like this dumb virus, I, like you, am frustrated by great planning done previously. Sigh.

As a current Seattleite living in the current epicenter of the Coronavirus in the United States, all of so-called my plans are up in the air. I shouldn’t say all, as some activities like hiking or running are “safe” to do as they avoid crowds of people in large open air spaces, but pretty much everything else is. The three concerts I booked for March are all in limbo, with one already canceled (sorry sorry sorry Young M.A), my ability to work on site at UW is comprised, as are crowded area spaces like restaurant, as well as potential travel at the end of the month etc etc etc.

So at this point in time, planning of any kind feels almost foolish. Sure contingency planning from work perspective is needed and is ongoing, but I find myself relating more and more to the quote from Parasite that I shared at the top. No plan can fail if there is no plan, right? But as Kurt Vonnegut so aptly put it, “So it goes.”