When Plan A Fails: The Benefits of Plan B and Small Shifts
- 7 days ago
- 2 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Some days, no matter how carefully you plan, life has its own agenda.
It was my grandson’s 13th birthday, and I had one job: lunch. Between his soccer game and his birthday wish—shooting clay pigeons with friends—we had a ninety-minute window.
Tight, but manageable.
I prepped ahead.
Menu, decorations, gift—all checked off.
I even layered Jell-o into eight crystal brandy glasses, ribbons of color sparkling like stained glass.
My grandson is a Jel-lo lover, and I couldn’t wait to see his face when he spotted them on the table.
The day began smoothly until my phone buzzed: could I pick up an order at Michael’s?
A quick detour, no problem.
Only a 10minute detour.
Once at my son’s house I unpacked the cooler at my son’s house and realized the ice cream was missing—still wrapped in a towel, melting quietly at home.
Cue Plan B: a dash to Family Fare for another half-gallon.
Another unexpected 15 minutes slipped away.
Back at the house, chaos had erupted. The parrot had escaped its cage and was swooping about, shrieking like a security alarm.
The clock ticked.
I reached for the Tupperware of pizza burger filling—the main course—only to find I had grabbed the wrong container.
Curry chicken.
Yesterday’s leftovers.
Kids and curry? Not happening.
Plan B again: I spotted taco meat in t fridge, sprinkled in oregano, and declared it “seasoned beef.”
I snapped a series of blurry photos because nothing — and no one — held still.
And the grand finale?
I forgot to serve the rainbow Jell-O entirely. Not one crystal-glass masterpiece made it out of the cooler.
And yet?
Somehow, it all worked.
The Benefits of Plan B
That day stayed with me—not because everything went wrong, but because of what Plan B quietly gave us.
1. Flexibility lowers stress.Letting go of “the plan” eases pressure and opens space for solutions.
2. Mistakes make better stories.Forgotten desserts and mixed-up meals become memories worth retelling.
3. People rarely need perfect.They remember how they felt far more than what was served.
4. Small pivots build confidence.Each adjustment is proof we can recover, adapt, and keep moving.
5. Plan B keeps us present.When we stop forcing outcomes, we notice what’s already good.
This is what I’ve come to think of as a 10% shift—not a dramatic reset, just a small adjustment that changes the direction of the day.
Presence Over Perfection
Later that same weekend, I was back in my studio.
Coffee in hand. Paint stirred slowly.
No deadlines.No expectations.A moment where details didn’t matter.
Today was a restart day.
If you’ve ever had a day like my birthday lunch fiasco, you deserve one too.
Relax.Unwind.Let the small shift be enough.
Plan B isn’t second best.
It’s often just a small restart—the kind that carries us forward with a little more grace than we expected.
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