Ok, but what if it works out?
And, what if it goes even better than expected?
Those are questions I don't automatically think to ask. I need to be reminded to consider them more than I care to admit. Focusing on the stuff that can go right is a muscle I've had to train after a lifetime of contingency planning. Sometimes I feel like I'm just an amalgam of contradictions.
Life as an athlete taught me "the best defense is a good offense," but life as an outdoor guide proved that "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." That, and there's no such thing as bad weather if you have the right clothing. So, learning to expect the best hasn't come easy. I quite admire the folks who do it well, though I admit I used to think them incredibly naive. I've always rooted for them, but I sort of secretly thought they'd learn the hard way, sooner or later.
I'm ready to say I was wrong about that.
Time and again, I've watched things work out for folks who thought they'd work out, just as I've watched things repeatedly fall apart for the folks who expected disaster to strike. Myself included.
We find what we look for. All we can really do is prime our autopilot to look for the good stuff. That way, even when things go wrong, which they will, you'll find the good thread.
Make sure you follow that one.
So... what if it works out? And, what if it goes even better than expected?
onward.
For more on this daily column and The MAP Year Project, read the backstory here. And if you know someone who'd appreciate this, pass it along.