Once, while I was learning to drive, my stepfather said to me, “Do you see that green light up ahead?” “Uh…Yeah, I guess.” I said a little confused.
I was not interested in lights way down the road. Even more, it was green and that is what I want. Who cares if it is green? Yellow and red are what I am noticing. Then, he taught me this little truth, impacting how I drive and also how I would live my life.
“If it is green now, it may be red by the time you get there.”
Then, he taught me the importance of looking down the road and planning ahead for what will likely be there.
Unless you are a Boy Scout, preparation is one of the most overlooked skills for happy living, personal growth, and great leadership skills.
In this world of instant oatmeal, fast food, and YOLO, very few people are giving any thought to the crucial role that proper and effective preparation gives to life.
So, let’s look down the road a little and review these five suggestions for more effective preparedness. Please consider how you might apply these to your life to be better in all you do.
Plan for a rainy day. As my step father taught me, if things are going green right now, they will most likely be red in the future. So, it is critical to prepare all of the time for what will surely come. The old proverb states, “If you are prepared, you will not fear.”
I have a good friend who works as a finish carpenter. His work is often unpredictable. He can go for months with multiple jobs and a healthy cash flow coming in. Then, prosperity will often be followed by little or no work at all.
I asked him how he made it through this. His answer was simple. When things were going well, he was stocking up for when they would not go well. We should constantly be doing the same thing. Look to the future and prepare for it. Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
Ask yourself about the future
I have often engaged in a little exercise which has helped me to be prepared for unforeseen events that have come in my life. I will sit down and ask myself, “Is there anything in my life right now that if continued will be a problem in 5 or 10 years?” Occasionally, I will reverse the question and ask myself if there is anything I need to add to my life to be prepared for the future.
Each time I have asked myself these questions, I have identified something I needed to do or change in my life. It has been almost amazing to me how much this has helped me to prevent disasters, be in the right place at the right time, or avoid something that could have later been a problem.
Schedule an appointment to prepare
Successful people prioritize preparation daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly. They are consistently looking at what is going on, and what is coming, and preparing for it. A favorite church leader of mine, Joseph B. Wirthlin, did this every night before bed. He would review his day, ask himself what he could do better, and then look to the future and prepare for what was to come.
You could do the same for yourself. Put it on the calendar and honor this time. Make it as important as any other meeting on your calendar. Take the time to prepare. Abraham Lincoln was inspired by this statement: “If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I would spend six sharpening my ax.”
Prepare emotionally and physically.
It is well to prepare through planning and reviewing mentally all there is to do and also to ponder what may come down the road. Yet, many have failed to make it because they did not prepare emotionally and physically for life. A failure to prepare physically and emotionally may well ruin even the best of mental preparation.
The body needs regular exercise, a good diet, and sufficient sleep. The emotions need a steady influx of things like gratitude, social connection, love, service, and peace. A failure to give the body and the heart all they need can undermine even the best of preparation. The world can be a battlefield. Make sure you are taking the time to fully prepare for it!
Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse.
Someone once asked Beyoncé how she was able to sing and dance so well. She replied that she rehearsed for up to 8 hours a day in heels to get so good. The best in all disciplines have the habit of mentally and physically preparing themselves through rehearsal. Practice makes perfect. Spanish novelist and poet, Miguel de Cervantes taught, “To be prepared is half the victory.”
So, as you head down the roads of your life, please enjoy those green lights and your forward progress. Will you also prepare for any red lights that may come? Take the time to be prepared. It is worth it.
