Dear Miss X,

To plan is the foundation of success. Not to plan is to plan to fail. Planning gets us mentally ready for a goal. Even before we start to tackle the tasks leading to the ultimate objective, both our body and our mind are alert.

Hope you have a to-do list on your phone and on your PC. At the end of a day, review what was accomplished. Simultaneously, list the jobs to do for the morrow. Arrange them in order of importance. When a new day dawns, give priority to the first item on the list. When you have done a job, cross it out. And you will feel a sense of achievement. Following the rule of thumb, first things first, you will see you can get a lot done by the time you go to bed.

A to-do list does not guarantee that things will not run out of control. We humans are at times at the mercy of circumstances and nature. When something unexpected crops up, make the best of it. Adjust your to-do list to the new order of things. If there is nothing you can do about the unexpected, live with it. We are not superbeings endowed with super powers. Actually, accidents and unscheduled events are part of our daily routines, aren’t they?

There are occasions when something good happens, not as a result of our effort, but out of pure chance and luck. These happenings are far and few between on our life journey. As a Chinese proverb says, a twig randomly plucked and pushed in earth grows into a tall willow tree. When it does happen, we feel blessed with good fortune, as if a windfall had landed upon our head.

Still, to maximise effectiveness of our days on earth, we have to plan and prepare. An idler has no chance whatsoever of a meaningful existence in this world.

An English proverb tells it all: Man proposes; God Disposes.

Yours

Shengliver