Choose a single course of action that has the highest probability of achieving your objective.  Your planning requires great attention to detail.  You must have a primary plan of attack with alternatives available in case unanticipated problems arise.  The plan must be on a scale consistent with available resources and the objective must be within the realm of possibility.

When I first started driving off road in the Arabian Desert, I felt lost, even when I had a GPS that told me my exact latitude and longitude.  Although I always knew my location, the real problem was I didn’t know what I was doing.  I didn’t know if I was getting into trouble, and if I was in trouble, I wasn’t sure what I needed to do to get out.

After driving more than one-hundred thousand kilometers in the deserts of Arabia and Australia, I no longer worry about where I am, because my exact latitude and longitude usually aren’t that important.  What is important is that I have enough fuel, water, and spare parts to deal with any contingencies that happen.

When I traveled into the Empty Quarter of southern Arabia, I rarely looked at my GPS because I wasn’t worried about my exact position.  What I looked at was my fuel gauge, and I made sure I had more than enough fuel to make my exit from the deep desert.  We always carried thirty percent more fuel than we felt we needed so we never ran out of gas.

Before going into deep desert, I always had an exit strategy that kept me out of trouble.  That strategy is called “navigating to a line”; in this case it meant navigating to an asphalt road or large desert track that I could easily find.

People who navigate to a point frequently get into trouble, because if they miss that point, they are lost.  People who navigate to a line are rarely lost, because they can hit the line anywhere along its path, and they are home free.

Whenever I went into the desert, it really didn’t matter where I went, and my exact latitude and longitude weren’t that critical.  The important thing was I had a line I could aim for when I was coming out of the desert.   Although I may not have known exactly where I was, I knew exactly which direction I had to turn to get back home.  My definition of being lost didn’t have anything to do with my location; it meant that I didn’t have the resources necessary to reach safety.

Whether you are driving in the desert or navigating through a wasteland of personal adversity, you must have a plan that will take you where you want to go.  If you understand your problem, there is an excellent chance you can construct a plan that will take you to your destination with your objectives intact.

Excerpt from :

Zero Tolerance To Negative Thinking : Good-by Depression - Hello Positive Mind

David J Abbott M.D.