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[This is Part 2 in my series about anti-planning. Click here to read the first installment, 4 Signs Traditional Planning Isn’t For You.] 

 

I can’t predict the future. 

Ugh, I know—total bummer. 

Every time I try, I’m wrong. It never plays out like I think it will. Sometimes, my plans go terribly awry; other times, things go surprisingly better than expected. 

This is one of the main reasons traditional business planning makes no sense to me. 

How am I supposed to make a five-year plan when I don’t even know what I’m going to make for dinner? 

How am I supposed to set a Big Goal when I have no idea what this year has in store for me? 

What if…

➡ I break my leg?
➡ My family gets sick?
➡ Someone close to me dies?
➡ My house floods in a hurricane?
➡ An unexpected opportunity knocks on my door?
➡ I inherit a bunch of money and don’t have to work anymore?

These things happened to me or my clients in the past year. In each scenario, the best-laid plans went awry. Chaos ensued, and the disappointment of unmet expectations reigned supreme. 

And here’s the thing… 

We could have avoided the chaos and disappointment if we had entered the year with fewer expectations and more trust in the organic unfolding of our lives (and, by extension, our businesses). 

The more I release the need to plan my way to success, the more ease, flow, rest, and abundance life sends my way. 

That’s why I am officially an anti-planner.

As promised, today’s newsletter shares my attempt to operationalize my anti-planning beliefs into an organized process you can experiment with yourself. 

So, without further ado, here we go:  

Maegan’s Anti-Planning Process

 

Step 1. Clarify Your Beliefs

Anti-planning doesn’t mean you abandon all structure, cross your fingers, and hope for the best. You’re not just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. 

Anti-planning requires you to actively participate in co-creating your life with the Universe (or whatever belief resonates with you, e.g., God, Goddess, or Spirit). 

To co-create, it’s helpful to work within a spiritual container. 

This isn’t about religion, unless you want it to be. It’s about connecting to something larger than yourself. This is how we move away from the culture of isolation and competition that keep us trapped in burnout. 

To begin, clarify what spiritual and philosophical beliefs you’re going to use to ground your thinking. 

My spiritual belief is that we’re all working together for the greater good. We don’t get to see the full scope of the production we’re participating in, but I trust that I’m playing a pivotal role in the show. 

When I relax into my belief that my life is part of this divine production, I trust that everything I need to play my role will reveal itself to me in perfect timing. There’s no need to look beyond where I am right now because right now has everything I need. 

My job is to pay attention to what is revealing itself to me today. 

In other words, what door is opening for me right now? 

Here’s my philosophy → One Door Opens Another 

Think of your life (and business) as one long journey. No matter how hard you try, you can’t see the entire trajectory. You can only see right in front of you. You can only see the door that is opening to you right now. And trust me, there is a door opening to you now. 

So, what is it? What door is opening? It might be something minor, like a door that opens to the next room. Or maybe it’s a portal to a new dimension you’ve never explored. You don’t get to know until you step over the threshold. 

And guess what? You don’t get to know what door will open after this one, either. It’s impossible to know! You can’t see through doors. Trying to anticipate your Big Goal for the year is the equivalent of pretending like you know what’s behind Door #11 when you’re just crossing through Door #6. It’s futile! 

Feel free to adopt “One Door Opens Another” if it resonates with you. 

If it doesn’t, no problem. Create your own! 

Again, now is the time to clarify the philosophical or spiritual belief that will ground your thinking about life and business. 

For bonus points, distill your belief into a few simple words that you can repeat to yourself like a mantra. 

This mantra will help you free yourself from traditional capitalist business planning… which is exactly what we’ll do in Step 2!

Step 2. Loosen Your Grip 

Now that you’ve clarified your spiritual beliefs about life and business, it’s time to shed whatever old beliefs are keeping you trapped in the rigid mindset of traditional business planning. 

This step requires loosening your grip on fear, control, and perfectionism so that you can live in alignment with your beliefs. 

This is internal work, and you cannot skip this step. It’s a vital part of the anti-planning process! You can’t change the way you operate your business without loosening your grip on old ways of thinking. 

Start by asking yourself, “Why have I subscribed to annual/monthly/quarterly planning regimens in the past?” 

For most people, it’s a combination of “I thought that’s what I was supposed to do” and “I’m afraid I won’t make enough money if I don’t do it this way.” 

Many of us operate our businesses with a tight grip. We’re holding onto our plans for dear life, praying we’ll have enough clients, enough money, enough success on the other side of our endeavors.

We’re gripping so tightly we often forget to breathe. 

We feel stressed and scared. Our fight-or-flight response is triggered. Our bodies go into survival mode, often suppressing the voice of intuition and turning the volume up on our minds. 

Before we know it, intellect and logic override our spiritual beliefs until we’re so burned out we can’t even think straight. 

If you want to be a deeply rested and financially secure anti-planner, you must loosen your grip on the belief that you can predict and control every aspect of your business. 

Here are some questions to help you loosen your grip: 

→ Who taught you that planning was important?

Your dad, a business coach, Shark Tank? What did they teach you, implicitly and explicitly? What emotions do you feel when you think about those messages now? 

→ Where are you gripping or controlling in your business today?

Pay attention to this for the next few weeks. When do you find yourself stressing, over-analyzing, or obsessing over what’s happening (or what’s going to happen) in your business? When is fear fueling your actions? And what is the fear about, truly? 

→ What are you afraid will happen if you stop planning?

What’s the worst-case scenario? Write it down. You need to get comfortable talking about this fear. Name it to tame it, as the therapists say. It might be rooted in lived experience (i.e. growing up in poverty) or catastrophic fears about the future (i.e. the economy will collapse and I’ll lose everything) or a combination of both. 

Have you ever heard the acronym for fear? 

False. Evidence. Appearing. Real. 

I’m not going to tell you bad things will NEVER happen. Anything can happen, terrible and spectacular. But predicting the future is above both of our pay grades. 

Assuming there will be catastrophic outcomes if you loosen your grip on fear, control, and perfectionism is a trauma response. 

It feels real, but it’s not reality. Your nervous system is trying to keep you safe, and I’m grateful for that. But all she’s really doing is keeping you trapped in self-doubt and chronic anxiety. That’s not helpful. 

In my experience, people resist loosening their grip because they’re afraid their worst-case scenario will come true. They’re afraid if they stop planning, they’ll stop making money, their business will fail, and everything will fall apart.  

But loosening your grip and becoming an anti-planner doesn’t mean you’re going to stop working!

You’re not going to fire all of your clients, buy a first-class ticket to Bora Bora, and lounge on the beach sipping fruity cocktails while the Universe deposits free money in your bank account. 

That would be dumb. Please don’t do that. 

(Unless you have money flowing in from a trust fund or something, in which case, can you take me with you? It sounds awesome.🍹) 

To be clear, you can loosen your grip while maintaining financial security. It feels hard and scary because it’s different, but just because it’s different doesn’t mean it’s impossible. 

We’re changing the way we operate our businesses, not abandoning operating them all together. Changing how we operate requires we loosen our grip on the old ways. 

As you loosen your grip, something really cool happens… 

You get to practice trusting your spiritual beliefs! 

For example, when I release my fear and loosen my grip, I have to trust that the next door is going to open for me. I have to have faith that my beliefs are real and true. I have to live in alignment with my values… even though it’s really scary. 

For this step, I suggest naming one way you can loosen your grip in your business. In other words, how can you practice trusting and living in alignment with your values? 

Once you have your answer, it’s time to move on to Step 3… 

_______________ 

Okay, I’m going to pause here for today. 

I don’t want to overwhelm you with too many ideas at once, and I really want you to take some time to noodle on these first two steps. 

I’ll share the final two steps with you next week: 

→ Step 3. Determine Your Focus
→ Step 4. Commit to Structure

Yesss, the final two steps are very practical!  

Your frontal lobe is going to love them. 😉

For now, do you have any questions? Comments? Reactions? 

Hit “reply” and tell me what you’re thinking.