“Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
Have you noticed that some truths sink in immediately and others take some time to circle around before they land? About six months ago, I listened to a podcast featuring Angus Fletcher who is the Professor of Story Science at Ohio State University talk about planning. Then I read his book, Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know.
Here’s what I took away from how he characterized planning. When we have no plan, we are afraid (and depressed). When we have one plan, we tend to get angry because anger is fuel for making it happen the ONE way we have planned. But when we have multiple plans or ways to get something done, we are more likely to get to an outcome.
It wasn’t until I recently lived through a travel crisis that I truly understood what Professor Fletcher meant. When a plan goes wrong, how do you stay calm, resilient, and brave enough to keep trying?
In this episode of The Life of Try, I share the story of a chaotic family travel day from Paris to England—missed trains, wrong directions, tired kids, unexpected costs, and the kind of uncertainty that can make anyone want to give up.
Through this real-life story, I explore how adaptability, creative problem-solving, gratitude, and “one next step” thinking can help us recover when our best-laid plans fall apart.
Here are three takeaways that helped me:
- One-thing at a time: Our bad travel day started on train #2 on a day when we needed five trains to get where we were going. I couldn’t fix the whole route at once so I was forced to just handle one step of the journey at a time.
- Regrouping: There is a Five Guys Burger at the Paris train station. No kidding, I think it saved my life – or at least my sanity.
- Gratitude: Counting all the days and things that had gone right for our trip helped put in perspective the day that went wrong.
Inspired by Professor Fletcher’s work on resilience and alternative plans, this episode is for anyone navigating change, setbacks, anxiety, mishaps, or the messy middle of trying something new.
Listen in for an honest reminder that trying does not require certainty—it only asks for movement, one breath and one new plan at a time.
Here are some other ways you can listen and watch this episode:
- The podcast player embedded below
- Click this link to watch in a browser: When Your Plan Falls Apart: How to Stay Resilient and Keep Trying
- Subscribe to The Life of Try on Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Podcasts
- Subscribe to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thelifeoftry
Links for this episode:
When Plans Fall Apart Transcript
Primal Intelligence: You Are Smarter Than You Know by Angus Fletcher on Amazon
🎥 Other episodes you might enjoy
➡️ How to Create Opportunities in Life | Motive + Means = Success Mindset
➡️ Encouraging Effort, Not Results | How to Build Resilience and Confidence
➡️ How to Celebrate Small Wins | Tiny Habits, Resilience & Personal Growth
(featured photo from Pexels)
Surprised By Joy 
No matter how the travel is planned, there are always some twists to it, I think. The important thing is that good days outweigh the bad.
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Oh, Wynne. What a story. Yes, my heart would have dropped like a stone, too., and no big sign saying “Tired Mother with two kids and too much luggage come here.” Yikes! And then it keeps going from there! I can visualize everything, and I want to give you a hug. ☺️ It is a good point that with the incredible volume of travel you did and all of it punctual, that really is some good luck and you were grateful for that which helped you down the road. And I’m going to remember your “Ask” tips. I’m happy you are home, back and safe.
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“Lost in Paris” sounds like a fantastic movie I’d love to watch! I love Paris and all it’s beauty so much! And thank goodness for 5 guys, it’s so comforting to find something familiar. When we were in “Europe”, I can’t remember where exactly, and saw a McDonald’s, it made everything feel easier… Love your tips – when trying goes wrong; ask questions, and make plans… Figure it out one step at a time.
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I like your gratitude statement “Counting all the days and things that had gone right for our trip helped put in perspective the day that went wrong”. Recently I had two flights cancelled and I got upset. But the assistant at the shelter who organized my hotel stay and re-booked a flight for the following day did a great job. I felt so thankful that I told him what an amazing job he did. However, when I came home I told everyone that it was awful being at the airport in a line to get things fixed. But then I realized that all went well, and not only the hotel was great but the dinner was excellent. So, the bottom line is that I should consider things in perspective, as you say Wynne.
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Thank goodness for a space to regroup, creativity, and flexibility. Way to go team Wynne. 😊
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“Sometimes calm is strategy”…so good! Thanks for keeping me company while I was on the road at the crack of dawn this morning, Wynne. So glad you had a great trip and look at you — giving all of us an opportunity to learn and grow as you share how you made meaning in the moment…over and over again. I love this moment most of all, when you said (about wandering in the train station), stress mounting: “There was no obvious place to fix the problem. No big sign that said, Tired mother with two kids and too much luggage, come here.” One chunk at a time, one challenge at a time. You made it work. And I’m with you. In what circumstance would fries and a shake NOT help? xo! 💝💝💝
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Wynne, the quote that always comes to mind for me when it comes to planning life is from the former CW TV show The Flash. One of the characters (Captain Cold) said there are only four rules to remember when making a plan. Make the plan…execute the plan…expect the plan to go off the rails…throw away the plan. This has always made me laugh when my life plans have gone sideways…which is quite often!
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Wow, what an adventure! I love how you show us that one step at a time is not just getting by, but the path to calm and grateful solutions. Well done, Wynne and family!
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