Anticipate the Ransacking Raccoon
I had a plan for the day. I was ready to go. I knew that my schedule permitted a lot of focus on my weekly goals. Nothing was going to get in my way - I was going to get things done.
Preparing for the day, I ventured past the sliding glass door leading out to the deck; I noticed contemptible chaos. Somebody or something had spewed one of my planters, dirt, and plants over the deck floor and a bench.
Upon closer investigation, conspicuous raccoon prints pointed to the ransacker. During the night, a raccoon had climbed onto my deck. Once there, I am sure the raccoon explored the deck area for food.
I have had a planter with a few flowering plants sitting up on my deck rail for several years. Each year, squirrels visit the planter and hide nuts in the soil. The squirrels never disturbed the plants. Because of the gentle hiding of food, I ignored the inconsequential squirrel activity.
The raccoon did not ignore the opportunity to climb to the deck railing and dig into the planter to find the nuts secured by the squirrels. Not only did the ransacking raccoon decide to dig out the plants, but it also decided to, without care, knock the planter off of the deck rail. There was dirt everywhere.
The raccoon's dirty work was not in my plan. It was an interruption. I had to make a decision. Did the cleanup have to happen immediately, or could I wait?
Because of the rain forecast and threatening clouds, I chose an immediate cleanup.
Putting my scheduled activities on hold was frustrating, but not performing a cleanup would lead to other problems. With rain and soil mixing, my cleanup would be twice as hard. I decided to change my plans immediately.
Before this minor inconvenience, I had scheduled activities. The raccoon disruption is an example of how problems can capsize the best intentions.
Anticipate disruptions. Take a moment to identify how many minor inconveniences - acts of ransacking raccoons - have disrupted your day. How did you respond? Would there have been consequences if you had not responded to the disruptions? Are there things you can do to minimize or get rid of the disturbances in the future?
I feel that planning is a life skill, which leads to success and accomplishment. To accomplish success, a person has to perform activities associated with the plan, or the plan is useless. With that said, effective people anticipate disruptions. They know that they have to make decisions about whether to act on the disturbances. Some of the actions have to be immediate. Others can take place at a later time.
So what is the best strategy for ransacking raccoon problems? Stay proactive and keep everything in perspective. We must stay calm and positive. It may take some time to clean up the mess of those incoming problems, but you must move forward and refocus.
If not urgent, fix the problem or deal with the interruption later. When taking this approach, you maintain your energy on your primary goals and activities. However, just like my rain scenario, you may have to clean up as quickly as possible, or the problem can expand.
As a mentor to youth, coach young people to keep a positive attitude. Things could be worse. Can we learn from the experience? Always look for the bright side of a problem.
The raccoon knocked the planter off the deck rail. It fell the right way - the planter fell on my bench. A worst-case scenario might be that I could have been walking under the deck at the time of the incident. A planter full of soil striking me in the head does not sound good. Ouch! Focus on reality. Things can always be worse.
After you deal with the problem, get back to the plan. Get your most productive activities done. The most beneficial activities should link to your weekly plan.
What else can we learn from the ransacking raccoon? For one thing, I want to avoid this type of disruption in the future. I might relocate my planter to a lower part of the deck. If the raccoon returns, it will not dislodge the planter from the railing. Take proactive steps to decrease your ransacking raccoon situations.
Even with proactive thinking, I still anticipate a future raccoon visit. No one has complete control of interruptions. Using preventative processes may help decrease them. Stay calm and make decisive decisions about how to deal with challenges. Mentors should point out to mentees real-world situations. Youth can learn strategies to increase effectiveness by overcoming plan ransackers.
