Blog Challenge – Day 5: Best Advice I’ve Ever Got

It has been a day full of activities today. But I would say that it was fun. The family had lunch at Star Cafe (which is closing some time this month – I’ll be blogging about this soon) then met with a cousin of mine who will be helping me out with little Z’s birthday plan. Then we had dinner at an uncle’s house for his retirement party. It was fun. 😀

Anyway, day 5. With all the whirlwind of activities going on, the blog challenge is the last thing that I do now before I sleep. I hope I can keep up with this challenge, though. So for now, I will make this quick and straight to the point as I still have some packing to do for our trip to the big metro tomorrow.

So going back – haha! – Day 5. One of the best advice I have ever got is contingency planning and back up plans. I learned this from my parents, especially my Dad. If I am correct, he used to be part of a procurement group and with all the POs – or quotes I think – they handle, costing would normally include +/- 5-10%.

What does this mean? For me, in terms of practical application, for every decision you make, for every action to be taken, or for every budget plan being plotted, always have a contingency. Always have a plan B, a plan C and if necessary, up until plan Z. There is no such thing as foolproof plan. There will always be a loophole somewhere and we don’t always necessarily foresee it. Sometimes the loopholes can come up after a sudden change of events or circumstances. So we have to somehow be prepared for the unexpected or if not, at least be quick to come up with a plan to deal with whatever that comes our way.

So there. I think it is because of this that I became a control-freak. My Dad was not necessarily a control-freak like myself. I guess coming up with contingencies and back up plans for back up plans have taken its toll on me that I now want to control every situation that I get myself into. Hmmm… Now this made me think.

I guess that was it for today. Hope I made sense with what I just wrote above. 😀

What about you guys? What are the best advice you’ve ever got that you still apply in your lives?