On planning and managing uncertainty
I just wanted to write this to remind myself of a lesson I learned that I frequently forget.
In the army there is a plan for most everything. In the event A doesn't work out then we do B. Then there is training over and over again till the actions become muscle memory.
The US government spent a lot of time and money in many cases developing these plans so that when soldiers are in the heat of the moment they can act on instinct on all these plans. So they don't need to think when the crucial moment comes, they react instantly.
And this is why they say all the time in the army, "you don't get paid to think" and you are just meant to follow orders no matter what that may be.
The plan was already set. You don't want to be in the middle of a battle and have to say, "what do we do now?". You always know what to do because you have orders that follow a plan (that hopefully was well thought out).
Just the same in my daily life, I make my plans. I think hard on them but once the plan is set, I should execute it. I do not stop mid stream to worry or replan again. If I believed when I set the plan that it would work then all I need to do is do exactly as I planned to aleviate my anxiety. That is all I have to do.
Cook the dinner. Complete the work tasks assigned. Get on the treadmill. Fix the car. Clean the house. If everything is done as planned then there is no need to have anxiety.
If I have to have anxiety it means I am not confident in my plan. In this case I have to ask why did I agree with it at all.
I need to remember this.
In the army there is a plan for most everything. In the event A doesn't work out then we do B. Then there is training over and over again till the actions become muscle memory.
The US government spent a lot of time and money in many cases developing these plans so that when soldiers are in the heat of the moment they can act on instinct on all these plans. So they don't need to think when the crucial moment comes, they react instantly.
And this is why they say all the time in the army, "you don't get paid to think" and you are just meant to follow orders no matter what that may be.
The plan was already set. You don't want to be in the middle of a battle and have to say, "what do we do now?". You always know what to do because you have orders that follow a plan (that hopefully was well thought out).
Just the same in my daily life, I make my plans. I think hard on them but once the plan is set, I should execute it. I do not stop mid stream to worry or replan again. If I believed when I set the plan that it would work then all I need to do is do exactly as I planned to aleviate my anxiety. That is all I have to do.
Cook the dinner. Complete the work tasks assigned. Get on the treadmill. Fix the car. Clean the house. If everything is done as planned then there is no need to have anxiety.
If I have to have anxiety it means I am not confident in my plan. In this case I have to ask why did I agree with it at all.
I need to remember this.
