I have realized that a healthy dose of planning is very good to identify what you are doing and trying to change. I even started looking into Theory of Change models for some ventures I am working on and it is very helpful.
But at some point I believe planning can become a crutch. For me personally, I have a tendency to look at so many different angles which can become paralyzing. All I think about is what can go wrong or why I shouldn’t be doing something.
On a smaller scale I was waiting to take this chair back because I wanted to see if another one I ordered would be better. One of the reasons I kept waiting is I didn’t want to have to deal with the hassle of sending it back and packaging up, etc. Essentially my planning mind caused inaction.
Then when I called the company and said I wanted to just return it and get it going they said just donate it or throw it out as they didn’t need me to return it. Problem solved.
The problem was solved through action and taking a step. As we look to create change in our communities, the endless planning and different routes we could take could limit our ability to take action and get our thoughts out there.
I believe a healthy mix of knowing what and why are are doing something with piloting or trying things out is so important. It is in that process that we might learn something we haven’t seen before.
