HAVE A PLAN! GET A VISION!

Hey ya. Men it’s been a long while! Okay maybe not that long; but two months is a long time to stay away from one’s blog-space. So this title and what I am about to blog about came to me as I was having a short reflective moment right about now. I have not forgotten the Blog Series I started on my experiences during my National Youth Service program. I will return to it soon enough. But for now let me get this off my chest hehehe.

Right, so having a plan and getting a vision. I am sure you’ve had the popular mantra that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. I guess I ponder on this because I look around me and it saddens me that it seems our youths especially don’t seem to have a concrete plan for their lives and future. And maybe to an extent, all the fault cannot be placed at their door. The country they found themselves in after all, is designed to frustrate rather than foster growth.

But for how long would we continue to blame the country alone? At some point, we would have to wake up, take the bull by the horns and take charge of our lives. One important character trait that ensures our survival as a species is resilience. Resilience is “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.” (Lexico.com) Resilience is the against all odds mentality. The mentality that says no matter the difficulties and stumbling block placed on my way, I must overcome and make it, and do so the legal way.

Let me elaborate on that last part of my last statement – on overcoming the legal way. I say this because to my horror and dismay, and that of a great deal of my countrymen, the youths have resorted to illegal means of trying to survive and make money – extortion and fraudulent activities. This is not being resilient at all; it is being weak and taking the easy way out. No hardship however difficult justifies a life of crime. And one may actually retort back and tell me how easy it is for me to say so because I allegedly come from privilege. And yet nothing could be further from the truth. I will share some aspects of my own story shortly.

WHY IT IS HARD FOR YOU TO HAVE A PLAN AND GET A VISION?

You’re probably reading this and saying to me, “it’s easy for you to say GG, but its not easy at all.” And in that conclusion you are not wrong at all. Having a plan and setting out a vision for your life takes work. It requires hours and hours of thinking, reflecting and introspecting into your life. And this is why ladies and gentlemen, it is very hard for humans, specifically youths, to make plans and get a vision.

Making a plan requires you to actually put thought into the process. It requires you to think. And so for many, when they think about all the heavyweight work that goes into the thinking, they would much rather not have a plan. They would much rather live their lives on the go, winging it as they go. And then when the winging fails to keep working, they blame everyone else but themselves. And yet the root cause is the failure to plan.

Laziness is the root cause and real reason why you are failing to plan and get a vision for your life. Does that sound harsh? Well maybe. But the harshness of this truth is nothing compared to the harshness and hardness that life will deal you if you continue to navigate your life without a vision, focus and plan.

Seriously think about your life and why you don’t have a plan. Ask yourself why it is so difficult for you to make a plan and get a vision for your life. And I can guarantee you that if you’re being completely honest with yourself, your answer will be laziness. If you have a different answer even after a deep and honest introspection, please feel free to let me know in the comment section below. I would be glad to learn something different from you in that respect.

HOW TO ACQUIRE A VISION AND MAKE CONCRETE PLANS – PRACTICAL HOW-TO STEPS.

Okay before I go on to preach, let me actually be honest about this aspect of making concrete plans and where I am at presently in my life journey. You’ve probably read in my earlier post here where I said that I go with God’s plan for my life at every given point in time. And in this particular post (linked) I go as far as saying that I cannot make any major plans about my life right now without clear divine directions. So it does sound hypocritical doesn’t it, that I make a big fuss about making plans and having a vision when it seems I am not doing the same. There’s no hypocrisy and let me explain why.

My approach and decision to follow it is based entirely on faith. It is conscious choice I made knowing full well the implications, and trust me its been working. Now if you don’t have faith, or have no intentions of letting faith define the course of your life, then my dear friend you have no choice but to get a vision for your life and make concrete plans. Well I guess you do have a choice actually, but the question is whether or not you are prepared to live with the consequences of living a purposeless and disorganized life.

I will tell you this for free concerning my own faith journey of letting God be in charge of my plans, before continuing on the practical steps. This is what you should know about God – He is a God of order; He is a God of planning and organizing. All you need to do is read the creation story in Genesis 1 and 2 and see how He organised the creation of the world. And so when He said to me He already had a plan for my life, I had no doubts that He meant it. And I can assure you that ever since I took the conscious decision to follow His plans and not mine, men my life has only grown from strength to strength, even in hard times.

But that’s just me. Let’s talk about practical steps on how to go about making plans. Because even though I’ve been following God’s plans, I’ve also had to take these practical steps to actualize God’s plans for my life. So you see, whatever model you choose to follow, you still have to put in the work of making actual plans and getting a vision for your life.

Get a Clearly Defined Vision for your life.

This is the most important first step. The vision you have about your life is what will determine the goals and plans you make. Where do you see yourself in say 5 years and 10 years time? What drives you and what would you love more than anything to see yourself doing? I cannot overemphasize the importance of this, and let me illustrate with my own life example.

So when at the age of 16, Father God made it clear to me that His career choice for me was law, I acquired His vision for my life of being a lawyer. I there and then decided that since His desire for me in any area of my life was to be the head and not the tail (Deuteronomy 28:13) and to excel in whatever I do (Deuteronomy 30:9), I told myself that I’ll be the best law student my university will produce in my graduating class. And so my clearly defined vision throughout university was to graduate top of the class no matter what. I had missed that chance in Junior and Senior High School because I wasn’t focused and didn’t have a plan. I wasn’t about to repeat the same mistake again as a young adult.

And so that vision is what drove me in all the plans I made. None of my peers understood why I worked thrice as hard as I did as a student. And you know why? It is because they did not understand or know the vision I had of my life and particularly my time in the university. So while they whiled away time, I was working on my vision. And that vision became a reality when I graduated.

Understand this. For so long as you don’t have a specific and clearly defined vision for your life, you will keep trying to do what everyone else is doing and hope that it works for you. But it can’t work for you because their vision (or lack thereof) and yours are not the same. Your path and theirs are not the same. Get your own vision and run with it (Habakkuk 2:1-4).

Make Concrete or SMART Plans.

Now that you have a clearly defined vision for your life, it is time to put it into action with definite and concrete plans. A good plan is SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. Building castles in the air is not a plan – your plan(s) must not be removed from reality. And you need to make the plans early on at the start of your journey after you have acquired the vision. You’ve probably heard the mantra to make hay while the sun shines or the early bird catches the fattest worm.

Let me illustrate with an example from earlier on in my life when I was very organised. Let me still go back to my university days example. So after I’d decided that I wanted to graduate top of my class, the first step was finding out what the Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) ranges were for a First Class. My research revealed that I needed to get at least a CGPA of 4.4 out of 5 at the end of my degree study, to qualify for the First Class. I kept reading on how the CGPA was calculated, and discovered that I needed to maintain at least a GPA of 4.5 consistently every semester and if I fall below 4.5, it should not be below 4.3. So that when they were all compounded at the end of my final year, I would at least get the minimum required which was 4.4 out of 5 – This is the MEASURABLE component of my plan. I made this inquiry and discovery before classes commenced in earnest.

Armed with that information, the next step was the actual planning of how to make a GPA of 4.5 every semester. This translated to at least either 3 A’s and 2B+’s or 1A and 4B+’s every semester – SPECIFIC. And that was my goal; I had put a Specific to my plan. When classes commenced and I gauged the difficulty level of the course, I had to go back to my drawing board and ask myself if my goal of 3A’s and 2B+’s was ATTAINABLE and REALISTIC all circumstances considered. I would then determine which of the courses to spend more time on and which to spend not so much time on. And so I will organise my study timetable with that in mind. And the reading commenced immediately after the first class for each course – TIMELY.

And the great thing with our lecturers is that they told us in advance when we were to write the first and second tests. These normally accounted for 40% of the total score for the course. Armed with all this information, my timetable and plan was made. I would decide after the first classes for all the courses in the semester which ones I would get an A for and which ones I was okay with settling with the low mark of B+ for. Yes, according to my standards, failure was getting a B+ or at worse a B. In those unfortunate isolated instances where I got a C+, I was mildly depressed I had to promise myself never to have a repeat of it. So yes I set very high standards for myself and that helped greatly in achieving my goal.

When I walked into the exam hall, knowing my test score and knowing what I was aiming for as a final pass mark for the course, it drove me to give my all to the exam. And I can tell you that at the end of each semester I achieved 90% of my goal in terms of the number of As and B+s. This ultimately resulted in getting the CGPA of 4.4 out of 5 when I graduated.

You’re probably reading the above and thinking that it is extra and a bit over the top. That’s just me, and what works for me may not necessarily work for you. But I go to those lengths to make the point that making a SMART plan is not easy and would require you to be intentional about it and to put in the work it requires. You will need to research, read and understand exactly what your vision is about and how to make it a reality.

Make the plans short and simple so that it is easy for you to follow through with it. Personally what I tend to do every year is set a year goal and plan for the whole 12 months. And then break them down into a month to month sub-plan if you like. That way I am actually taking steps to attain my one year goal and plan(s).

Write down your Plans.

This is also very important. Without writing down your plans, there is nothing to ginger you into action. Putting it down in black and white has a way of getting you to think through your plans, and giving you immense clarity on the journey ahead.

Work in Silence.

This one is really important. Most plans never kick off because we’re too busy talking about it that by the time we finish talking about it, we’re too exhausted to actually get down to it. I know I know, it can be hard to keep it to yourself, but you have to try. Take a step back from your busy social life, introspect in silence and get to work in silence. Seek counsel but only to the extent you need it. Quietly work on yourself and your plans, and when your plans eventually become a reality and resounding success, it will announce you. You won’t have to say anything – the results of your hardwork and action will speak for you.

I remember in university, I imposed a rule on myself never to discuss my grades with anyone. If I failed a course I kept it to myself, and if I passed, I did the same thing. And so, who was the top of my class I didn’t bother so much with; I was more interested in my GPA and keeping it at a certain level. Although when the GPAs of everyone was published at the end of the semester (without names), I made a note of what the next highest GPA was and the margin I needed to maintain was. I rarely spoke in class as well because I was actually very shy at the time(I still am, but not so much). And so no one knew much about me or indeed paid any attention to me. But when by my 4th year I was nominated for the award for the best 4th year law student, I was puzzled and shocked when I was approached by one of the other top student who asked me if I was a member of their class. I laughed and could not believe it. And that was how I suddenly came to light in the class. I didn’t have to announce myself; my grades did. In the same way, work silently on your SMART plans and their results will announce you effortlessly.

Reevaluate and Reassess at the end of each achieved goal.

When you complete each task/goal in your plan, evaluate what your output is and how it feeds into your overall objective and goal. If there are things you should have done better, take those lessons unto the next task. This constant reevaluation would keep you on your toes and ensure that you stay on top of things. So for instance in my monthly plans, I have to ask myself at the end of each month how much I had achieved and what I could do better for the next month.

Doing all of the above would get you a step closer to achieving more out of your life. Sounds like hard work right? Yes it is. Get off your lazy bum and get to work. Unless of course you are happy with living a mediocre life then please sit still and do nothing.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF IN MAKING PLANS AND GETTING VISION.

Who am I and what are my strengths and weaknesses?

Yes times are hard, but what do you have in your hands? What can you do and know that you can do very well? It does not have to always do with what you studied in university. As a student I realized that I was a good salesperson. I decided to sell small goods on the side while studying, to make enough pocket money to buy my own textbooks because I could not always rely on my parents. Sometimes it will mean you swallowing your so-called pride and engaging in trade that you may consider beneath you as a graduate. If you only wait for your degree certificate to put food on your table, you may find yourself starving and hungry. If you are good with rapping or singing, consider tapping into that talent more. Explore all there is to know about yourself by asking this important question and acting on your strengths.

What opportunities exist in the areas of my strength?

And here I need to say something about how we define opportunities. Opportunities are not just those ones that exist in society. You can make your own opportunities. Let me explain. A gaping need is an opportunity waiting to be exploited and created. So say for instance you are tech savvy and spot a technological need in your community. Why not use your tech prowess to create a solution to the problem? In so doing, you solve a problem and create an opportunity for yourself – a win-win for everyone. Basically, you have no excuse. If there are no opportunities, create yours. There will always be a need around you that needs to be solved. Solve that need and create your opportunity.

What are the potential problems touching on my field that I would have to deal with?

Knowing your environment is important so that you make plans that would actually work and not flop. To use the IT example again – if you know that you would contend with theft of your idea then you will need to make plans to protect it and know who to reveal them to. You get the gist – you have to also know the problematic areas you will be putting up with, so that you make realistic and proper plans.

Doing all of the above will get you on that track. Be intentional about it. Make concrete plans about your life! Get a vision! And see you on the winning lane.