Plans...

A friend of mine has this great saying, "fail to plan, plan to fail". I love it because it is so true. But sometimes even the best of plans goes off track. So here is how I deal with derails in my life.
1) Never paint yourself in a corner.
Now I am the King of Procrastination, really I have a PhD in it from Never Do Today What You Can Do Tomorrow Graduate School. But one thing I do is I don't put unrealistic deadlines on myself, and if something comes up that interferes with a deadline that I could not control, I change the one thing I do control, the deadline I put on myself. Now it takes discipline to do this, you can't just make up some kind of "circumstance" to push out your deadline, but lets face it, life happens. So be flexible with yourself and your plans.
2) Always look to the finish line, not the track.
I hated track when I was in school. It must have been in Jr. High when coach tapped me as someone to run the mile in the track meets. I should have been estatic, instead I could only think of that mile I had to run. But I got through it focusing on the finish line, not the process to get to the finish line. Sometimes that finish line looks so far off, but as you get closer you see the line grow larger in your vision, THAT is what will get you to the finish line.
3) When involved in an accident, look for insurance.
I know you are thinking what? Now he is talking about car crashes. No hear me out. When you have an auto accident, you exchange insurance information with the parties involved. What that does is let the insurance companies work togethre to take care of both of you. It is called CO-OPERATION. When your plans get derailed, look for some insurance from a friend, a Pastor, a parent, a grandparent, a neighbor and have them help you get back on track with your plan.
4) Sometimes a detour happens
I hate detours, it slows me down, makes me take new routes I am not familiar with and messes up my schedule. But on many detours I have seen the most amazing scenery, found the best restaurants and experienced things I never would have if I had stayed on the main road. Detours lets us experience things off the beaten track. So don't hate on detours, they happen, embrace them, learn from them, and you might even find out that you find a better way to get where you are going.
5) Plans fail.
There I said it, yep plans fail sometimes. It is OK, you will not be branded a failure for your entire life because you had one plan fail. I think sometimes we learn more from our failed plans than we do from our plans that succeed. Some of the most influential people in history failed and failed miserably. I like the old quote, "if you try nothing, you will be sucessful at nothing 100% of the time". So try and don't be afraid to fail occasionally, just don't make it a habit.
Pat