What Can Go Wrong; Will.

Have you ever heard anything like this? "What can go wrong will go wrong" is the most basic form of what has become known as "Murphy's Law." Edward J Murphy was a real person and Air Force Major in the 1940s, and his job was developmental engineering. As one can imagine, with much of his research involved testing early prototypes... things could and did go sideways.

So, why do we care?

We care because planning for things?to go sideways?occasionally allows us to adapt quickly, not suffer so much, and get back to the tasks that bring us closer to whom we want to be and what we want to achieve.?

The next best step after setting any bearing is to plot how you could navigate potential obstacles. This "premeditation of evils upon my path" is what Stoics call?premeditatio malorum.?Using your imagination this way doesn't create worry as we would initially expect but instills freedom. Moreover, taking on this practice regularly will allow you to respond rather than react, which is key to any thoughtful advancement.?

Respond vs. React:?What do we call firefighters, EMTs, and police??We don't call them "first- reactors"; we call them first-responders.?What is the difference? -Training; in all of these professions, they are trained via scenario repeatedly to take action in compromised environments. When aligned well (we know what occurs when not), they practice what will go wrong in the field such that they may remain focused on serving their greater cause. Those who encounter something novel in the field take it back to improve the later generations.

Turn all things to Advantage:?Once you recognize your capabilities to adapt and handle situations and just how much power you have, you can begin to move evenly over the uneven. You pivot and take advantage of the ever-changing environment more quickly. Why? Because of this practice, you focus on what you can do and your capabilities rather than everything you can't control.?

FUBAR Formula:?We shy from these negative visualizations because we are afraid we will "Secretfy" them into existence or something. While I would never suggest dwelling on what is the worst of possibilities constantly, I will always recommend rubbing your plans up against reality. Even a quick check-in with the "if this situation zigs, then I can zag by..." formula is liberating (and often fun when the family is involved).

For example, every time we go to the store. I ask my son what will we do if we get separated? Which way is home from here? What is Grandma's phone number? What if {insert weird, silly thing} happens??

Usually, at this point, I get told a story about how aliens would invade our neighborhood grocery store and that the best defense is in the dairy aisle. Why? Aliens are scared of cows. So that is why they torture them. [true story, well, my kid telling me this is... I am not so well-versed in cattle mutilations conspiracy theories].