How Do You Respond When Your Plans Change Unexpectedly?

Invisibly disabled people's plans change unexpectedly.

How do you feel?

Confused? Sad? Angry? Disappointed? Serendipitous?

Invisibly disabled people's plans change. Well, so do everyone’s plans, at times. So what?

I would argue that our plans change more frequently than others’ plans.

Suddenly. Unpredictably. Unacceptably.

Is there anything we can do?

Confused

Angry

Serendipitous

One day, I had “have-to” shopping still to do long after my strength had drained away. How did I know that had happened? By my difficulty of coping with other shoppers. When it hurts to move my muscles, I get very grouchy and touchy. Toward the end, my right leg refused to work. So, how did I cope? By getting upset when things didn’t go exactly as I wanted when I wanted. Not being nice to strangers. Even by griping at my very loving husband. An object lesson in learning how NOT to respond to unexpected changes!

That’s one way to behave when life interferes with our plans. I certainly didn’t plan for my strength to run out. What circumstances happen to alter your plans? How do you respond?

Our ideal goal is to respond gracefully and happily to changes. But do we? More importantly, can we? How?

Practical Ways

• Focus on what you can still do.
• Ask for - and accept - help, if appropriate.
• Look for a suitable alternative.

Emotional Reactions

• Don’t waste energy envying what others can do.
• Deliberately seek to find something to laugh about.
• Remember a past good time.

Planning Questions

• Would evaluating your plans be helpful?
• Were there weaknesses in your plans?
• Can your future planning be improved?

Proactive Actions

• Assess what went wrong; figure out if any preventive action exists.
• Decide in advance how you would like to respond in the future.
• Work on accepting your limitations before a crisis occurs.

Finally ...

If you’re a Christian, God has plans for you - good plans. Although God’s definition of “good” sometimes seems very different than ours.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”