Why you should plan for good times

Our culture places a great deal of emphasis on being prepared for bad times. We are warned against being too optimistic and told that it is foolish to think our plans will bear fruit. We are told to assume the worst and save up (if not give up).

As expected (awaited?), bad times come. No matter how prepared we are, we fall short of resources to deal with the situation - because hey - they are bad times. It wouldn't be right to call them bad times if they were easy to deal with, right?

You may have heard - 'Whatever you focus on, expands'. Do you think we might be asking for bad times?

I mean, how much more focussed on failure can we get? All we ever anticipate is things going wrong. All we ever see in our future is ourselves dealing with truckloads of troubles. We don't entertain even the faintest possibility of a grand success or lasting happiness.

It is almost as if we have accepted misery as the status quo and happiness as something that can only ever come rarely and never last for long.

Maybe the reason happiness doesn't stay is because we don't plan for its coming. We take great care in plotting out every detail about what we supposedly don't want to happen. But we just assume the good times will take care of themselves.

Let us then start by figuring out exactly what great things we want from our future. In gruesome and ludicrous-sounding detail!

If it is fame you seek, think about what you will do when you are famous. Imagine yourself surrounded by screaming admirers. Picture applause and accolades. Think which part of the day you will assign to replying to fan mail.

If you dream of prosperity, imagine all manner of worldly pleasures before you. Banglaa, gaadi, naukar chaakar and all that. Feel the state of mind that comes with financial abundance. Imagine what it would feel like to not have to worry about overspending.

And don't stop with the dreaming. Chalk out elaborate plans of daily routines you will follow when the fabled good times descend upon you. If your plan involves freedom, think what you will do with that freedom when you get it.

Visualisation is a powerful technique. One that has worked for me several times in the past. If you can get past the mental trap that prevents you from entertaining positive thoughts, it will work for you too.