Do you have a Plan B?

You may have heard examples in history, of victorious army leaders who in one instance burned the ships of his troops to take out the chance of anyone retreating to the ships and the only choice the troops were left with was to march forward, at the same time, you hear speeches for successful figures like, Arnold Schwarzenegger, saying he hates a plan “B” and never had one, promoting the notion of failure being ok!, at the same time, when you get the advice “not to put all your eggs in one basket”, then what is the right approach, would a plan B have a negative impact on your mindset, efforts, motivation?…

In a study done by cognitive psychologists at NYU & University of Chicago concluded that backup plans do indeed alleviate the psychological discomfort associated with uncertainty, however, it comes at a cost!

A backup plan could impede your performance,

Even thinking of one could possibly reduce your performance! Benedict Babyan, a neuroscientist post-doctoral researcher at Harvard said “Considering a backup plan could have the consequence of identifying another goal as valuable, which can lead us to re-evaluate our primary goal and maybe decrease its value,” ?

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” Frank Roosevelt

Fear is an incentive, whether we like it or not, in fact it is! Fear of failure, is a major catalyzer for people to perform and keep performing, creating a soft spot in a person’s mind is in fact an escape path that could lead to lower performance and motivation, a finding that was supported in Shin & Milkman,2016 research. therefore, we shouldn’t allow it to creep in, we should remain engaged with commitment.

Planning for failure gives you permission to fail,

“We?believe?what we tell ourselves about the world and our potential, so remind yourself that you?can?succeed and that you have the tools necessary to do so; don’t build an arsenal of self-sabotaging beliefs and self-talk. A successful outcome occurs when you plan for success, so focus your energy on achieving Plan A.” Degges White (n.d.)

Does making a backup plan reduce motivation or is it a source of distraction?

In an article published by scientific American the correlation was there, that is, having a backup plan in fact reduces the motivation, performance, and efforts!

However, stating the obvious, this doesn’t not mean become reckless. The above studies were made in the context of the reward or target being highly dependent on the effort. Do make a backup plan where success is not contingent on effort, for example, a mortgage, a saving plan for retirement etc. however, be careful not to adopt backup plan (or plan B) as a short cut to comfort. ?

Many of the goals we pursue in life require a great deal of effort, and we can’t be certain of achieving them. The insurance of having a backup plan is thus very attractive. However, this psychological insurance, just like other insurances, may come with a price.