One day a doctor realized she kept having a long line of patients waiting to see her—a line extending far out of her office and into the street. She already knew what was wrong with each patient. Each patient had a sprained ankle from stepping into the deep hole in the sidewalk out in front of the office. The doctor knew the source of her own dilemma. She was just too busy seeing patients in pain with sprained ankles. She never could take time to get someone in to repair the sidewalk.

What was the doctor’s problem?

What would you suggest she do?

Ultimately, of course, the doctor’s real problem was her lack of planning. We can’t just keep reacting. We have to be proactive.

If we don’t plan, nothing is likely to change for the better, and we are likely to be stressed out. Then we just keep making the same mistakes over and over, without looking for solutions and planning our strategy.