“Always have a plan” is part of our daily life. We’ve discovered we don’t need to worry if Plan A doesn’t work--there are 25 more letters in the alphabet we can use to adapt our plan.
But do worry if you don’t have a plan at all, because having a plan significantly increases your chances of success. So, every January we take the time to review the past year as well as make new plans for the year ahead of us. When it comes to planning, guess we both are predictable this way. (Click here to read “To Resolve or Not to Resolve….” that we wrote on the Patch newspaper a few years ago on planning)
Finding interesting photo locations is planning we enjoy, and one weekend we were enjoying the trip we had planned to Savannah. There at Bonaventure Cemetery we found this statuesque figure who appears to be very deep in thought--or is it worry? Perhaps concern over something momentous such as “How can I help create world peace? More likely it is “How can I keep that pesky pigeon from landing on my head again?”
If you are a planner or list-maker, you already know how fulfilling it is to cross things off your list. Studies show that when we cross off items, our brain and body work together to reward our accomplishments. Natural dopamine stimulates us and keeps us motivated with a sense of “well-being.” Remember how you felt when you got a t-shirt for running a race, read a book that you had been wanting to read, or cleaned out the sock drawer (well, maybe not that one!). Anyway, dopamine rewards us while at the same time our brain’s wiring is strengthened, and we take more steps toward achieving our personal goals.
And good news for you folks out there who are procrastinators by nature: the connection between planning and achieving is so synergistic that even just making a plan gets some dopamine flowing…win-win for everyone!
It was at this very cemetery that Clint Eastwood directed “The Garden of Good and Evil” (good movie from a good book). Unfortunately, his visit didn’t coincide with ours, so we didn’t get to meet him—or Minerva or Lady Chablis for that matter. However, we did come away with a few great shots that made the visit worthwhile.
The weather didn’t cooperate, so we revised our plan and left for home, deciding to return to Savannah for another photo shoot in the not-so-distant future. Not sure if this was Plan B, but we are always willing to adapt our current plan so that we can continue our journey together!
Positively Speaking, “Sheri & Bill...Story Tellers in Word, Image and Song.”
InOurView.com offers a collection of blog articles, original photography and original folk pop songs inspired by everyday life from a positive view.
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