You Can't Just Quit Without a Plan

In life you always have to have a plan. You have to be prepared for whatever it throws at you. Because of course, life is unpredictable. But life also offers us something else, and that something else is hindsight.

We know things sometimes go wrong. We know that sometimes curve balls will be thrown at us. And knowing that, the farther along down the road of life we go the more we should be aware that things will go wrong.

Even if what happens is not something that has not necessarily gone wrong, but simply forces us to change course a bit—hindsight still lays it out all too clear for us. We know.

"I will cross that bridge when I get to it" may work for some. But I will tell you that for most it doesn't work at all. And most of the time the people who live by that mantra get to that bridge caught with their pants down.

And more often than not, those people who get to that bridge, will do all they can to lay the blame everywhere other than where it belongs. On themselves. The one who did not plan. The one that did not use hindsight. The one that was ill prepared.

It's the system's fault. Life is unfair. My boss is a jerk. The little guy always gets screwed. Life just sucks.

A few weeks ago I told you about A Major Decision in the Next Couple of Weeks (read.cash). To keep a long story short, our warehouse guy had decided to take a job somewhere else, and I had decided that I would not do warehouse work anymore. I had decided that what I needed from the company was a plan, and I needed to know what that plan was immediately in order to decide for myself if I would stay with the company, or move on to do something else.

In a pseudo-follow up post, Is This The Start of Semi-Retirement? (read.cash), I said that the company decided to hire someone immediately, and that my decision (for the moment) was to stay on.

As of this writing that remains to be my decision. Our warehouse guy will have his last day on October 15th and the new guy has already been interviewed and will start sometime around the end of this month.

Still, there are all sorts of what-ifs to be considered here. What if the new guy doesn't work out? What if he just ups and quits? The kid is 19-years old, so of course there is no telling what he will do.

What does that mean for me is the real question here. Because my decision to stay remains an open-ended decision. It is not final. My decision literally hinges on what happens next?

But therein lies the plan. The preparedness. The hindsight. Hope for the best and expect the worst. I have no intention of crossing any bridges with my pants down. If I get to that bridge I plan to gallantly walk across it knowing full well where I am headed and what awaits me on the other side of it.

I've got the goods, so to speak.

Granted, most of the plan in this particular decision is making sure that I am financially prepared to make it. I want to make sure that there is a budget already in place. Money that is already set aside for the sole purpose of covering my expenses for an entire year should the other part of the plan not work out right away.

That money has been set aside and is simply waiting for me to have to do something with it should the need arise.

The second part of the plan is of course what comes next? Because even though full retirement would be nice, I am sure I would get bored despite having many hobbies I enjoy that would fill my time happily. So that part of the plan becomes seeking part-time employment somewhere, doing something.

I already have a good idea about where I may apply for a job should I be forced to make the decision to leave my company.

If the kid works out, that is the most ideal situation of course. The big question becomes if he leaves during our slower months—which are the winter months—what does the boss decide to do with that? Does he seek another warehouse guy, or does he simply say, "I think we can take care of the warehouse until summer comes back around."

Because if that his decision, he will make that decision with me making my decision. To quit.

I have been very clear on my position. This is not to attempt to try to wield power over my boss. It is simply to lay out clearly for him that regardless of what his plans are, or what his plans may be going forward, I also have a plan.

There is a silver lining here. And that is along the way I have made no secret of my intentions. My boss is more than aware of what impact his decision will have on mine.

And so far he seems at least mindful of it enough to keep me well in the loop of what is next, and what the plan is for the warehouse. He has given me assurances that there is a plan, that he respects what I do, and has told me that his interests are to have me onboard.

Regardless of what any short term outcome happens to be, the one thing that remains is my plan. My money set aside for the plan stays put. I do not lose sight of the future and use the money for something else. Because even if I do not reach that bridge today, it does not mean that I will not reach it tomorrow. And no matter when the day comes when I do reach that bridge, I still want to walk gallantly across it knowing full well where I am headed and what awaits me on the other side of it.

I want to make sure my pants are securely around my waist whenever the time comes that I must cross that bridge.

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