Exit Strategy

Some time has passed since our last conversation. So much has happened, I hardly know where to begin. Within the past five to seven years in education, backwards planning has become one of the many buzz words that schools and school systems have latched onto. Backwards planning is the notion that teachers should plan what they will teach, with the end result in mind. This method requires teachers to know where they expect students to end up and use that ending point as the place to begin planning what students will do to meet and exceed those standards. Rather than creating assessments after lessons have been taught, teachers create the assessment first, and then work backwards to ensure that all content will be covered in a meaningful way. Although I am not sure where to begin, I do know where I will end.

The concept of backwards planning makes me think about a lot of past situations that I entered into without thinking about how I would get out of them if they proved to be unsuccessful or unproductive. Many times, I have made decisions based on the now and not the year from now or five years from now. When it comes to our futures and the well-being of our families, we have to plan backwards and think about what we want the end to be. I know that we have been taught to "run on and see what the end will be", but I am not sure that this is what's best in all cases. A lot of confusion and backtracking could be avoided if we spent more time thinking ahead; being proactive and not reactive.

You can't plan everything, but it is wise to take the time to plan an exit strategy. I think Kanye said it best, "And I heard em say, nothing's ever promised tomorrow today"; so I do know that even the best laid plans can fail. That being said, there is still no good reason not to prepare ourselves for how we will move on once an opportunity, relationship, or assignment comes to an end.

Too many people are doing too many things that they have not taken the time to think through rationally: spending money that they have not budgeted to spend, entering into relationships with people they have not taken the time to get to know, speaking about things that they have not thoroughly researched. In short, folks are running around making choices all willy-nilly and are not planning an exit strategy.

Know your next move. Set some goals and do something everyday to get you closer to meeting your goal. Even when things do not go the way you want, plan an exit strategy. Think of a way to move yourself forward and don't waste time getting started. Circumstances don't matter. If we all think long enough and hard enough, we could find reasons why we should not take the time to plan for our futures. After all, its not up to use anyway. God's Will will be done, regardless of our efforts, this much is true. It is also true though, that when God sees us working hard in spite of what is going on around us, He makes sure that we can get to the place where we need to be.

I challenge you all to think about where it is that you want to be and how you can work to get there. Plan your exit strategy out of whatever is not productive for your life: unhealthy lifestyles, poor spending habits, irresponsible dating choices, or complacency in general. Plan your life with the end in mind then make it a reality.

...until the next Candid Conversation.