The idiom “Man proposes, God disposes” is a reminder that there are times in life that no matter how careful we are in planning to reach a certain goal, sometimes it does not come up to our expectations. Why?
The www.english-for-students.com website states: “The saying ‘Man proposes, but God disposes’ tells that whatever man proposes as his objective to achieve by exercising his will power, efforts , and intellectual potentialities, there is a limit to his abilities and there is some supernatural power – God – to determine the shape of things and its end.”
It was the case of someone I know. She and her boyfriend had been on a 10-year relationship. They had great plans for their life together, including the date of their marriage. However, life played a trick on them when her boyfriend was transferred to another province to work. Her boyfriend married his officemate a year after. To her dismay and great despair, she cursed him .She felt that it was the greatest betrayal of her life. She realized that what her cousin told her that there was danger in a long relationship or engagement really had a grain of truth.
Our plan would not always come out as we want it to be. I firmly believe that God has another plan for us, a better one. As a saying goes, “If one door closes, another door opens.” Jeremiah 29.11 reminds: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, and plans to give you hope and a future.’”
The www.standardmedia.co.ke website has its own view on the matter: “When things don’t go as expected, it is completely normal to feel as though you’re not sure what just happened . Your world just got rocked. Things happen for a reason. So whatever happens don’t lose your cool trying to figure out why. When your plans hit the roof, you can either choose to fall into negativsm or you may also take this opportunity to cultivate your natural optimism. It is not easy, but it can be done.”
There are some things to remember when things don’t go as planned as cited by our source:
*Always maintain your cool, take a deep breath and tell yourself everything will be okay. Accept disappointment, accept you can never control everything, and learn to adapt to the situation. That’s just how life is, unpredictable. Deal with change.
*When things don’t go as planned don’t ever give up. Learn from your mistakes and try avoiding them next time. Work around it and try again differently. Ask for help.
*There’s nothing wrong in asking for assistance. Try seeking advice from people whom you can trust and those who can assist you. The reason you may have failed in the first place is because you made decisions from an uninformed source. Get knowledgeable people to help with whatever it is you’re working on. Maintain good relationships.
*In every situation always try and have a good healthy relationship with your family and friends. In times of need, they are the people who will have your back and make you feel secure.
*Accept defeat\loss. When you plan something, and things don\t go as planned don\t fight it. Instead learn the reason behind its failure and avoid repeating the same mistake again. Forgive yourself.
*When things fail, don’t ever beat yourself and blame yourself for it because there are some things you cannot avoid. Let go and start over. Stick to your values.
*Never loose yourself when things don’t go as planned. Don’t devalue yourself or try to make the situation better by using the wrong channels. Stick to your core values and principles. Failure should not change your positivity. Stay positive.
*In every situation, always stay optimistic and remember that no situation is ever permanent. There is a reason for everything, so try to understand and pick the positives out of the situation no matter how difficult or disappointing it may be.
Here’s food-for-thought from allaboutlovequotes.com that is worth pondering when things don’t go as planned: “Don’t dwell on things that you didn’t get. Just focus on God’s blessings you have that you didn’t ask for. When you focus on the things that you didn’t get or haven’t gotten yet, chances are, you will always feel that there’s something lacking inside you. But when you focus on God’s blessings, those blessings that you haven’t asked for but are given to you, you will feel how truly blessed you are and you will not feel the emptiness that comes from wanting for more.”