Effective Planning

“Any enterprise is built by wise planning.” Proverbs 24:3

By John E. Schrock, Businessman

Underline the key concepts found in this principle.

There are different views on how we should or should not plan our lives. There are some who quote the scripture, "Take no thought of tomorrow," believing it means not to plan anything. This view is held by many believers. Others, of course, differ. But consider that Jesus, who spoke these words, came to our world on a planned mission which was designed by God with goals and appointed times. This leads us to believe that we should also plan our lives. My personal belief is that we should live our lives as though we may die tomorrow, yet plan as though we may live to be a hundred. Very few things are ever achieved without a vision of the future and a plan of how to bring it into existence. Ninety percent of our life can turn out to be as we envision it with good planning. Without a plan, we merely respond to situations as they come along. We will either have a plan for our lives, or we will become part of someone else's plan.

Wise planning will save us from lots of problems in every aspect of life, making it more orderly and meaningful. For our plan to be successful, it must contain three elements:

1. We must have a vision.

2. It must spell out our mission.

3. We must have a strategy of how we are planning to achieve it.

People must have vision in order to be happy - this becomes our mission and purpose. Our mission will then demand a plan with specific goals.

One of the most important parts of our lives is to experience achievement. All good plans have short and long-term goals which have time allocations and achievement dates. This way, we can measure our progress. This becomes a "game plan" with responsibilities and rules to follow. The plan becomes the "rules of the game." Imagine playing basketball without a hoop, or baseball without bases. We could never decide whether we are winning or losing, or know whether we are performing well or poorly. There is no way to measure our progress if there are no plans and goals for the game. It is hard to enjoy a vacation without a wise, realistic plan of where we are going and how much it will cost. The plan is what causes the excitement. The plan will show us how and when to get there, and what we are going to do while we are there. Our entire lives need to be planned wisely. This makes life interesting. If we want to succeed and have God’s blessing, our plan should have these four concerns:

1. Is it achievable?

2. Is it maintainable after it is achieved?

3. What effect will it have on our family and friends?

4. What will I become in the end result?

Not everything we plan will work out, but at least we can measure according to our plan and then readjust wisely. God wants us to plan our lives. He will bless our plan when we seek Him for guidance. That is planning wisely. We must make sure we build (plan our lives) on a set of values which will produce good character while we are in the process of achieving it, or we may become a failure rather than a success.

This principle is part of the one year character development program: Foundations For Achievement.

Thoughts to Ponder:
You can travel any road and get somewhere, but if you know where you want to go, you must plan which roads to take..