Can you ever really be prepared?

Are you a planner? Do you save for your retirement? Do you bring a detailed list with you to the grocery store? When you got married did you have a life plan; how long you would wait before you started a family or bought your first house? Many of us can relate to these scenarios. We have good intentions and we try to plan, but a thing called 'life' tends to get in the way.

It can be as simple as we may have dreamt too big too soon. Sometimes we really don't understand all it will take to get from point A to point B. Perhaps we don't understand everything that will be involved; the time something will take, the dedication, and what it will cost.

Have you ever tried to plan for a loss? If you found yourself caring for someone who was sick you may have had a little glimpse of what lied ahead and tried to prepare yourself. Sometimes we don't get any time to prepare. We tell someone goodbye in the morning as they go off to work not realizing that they might not come home that night. Life has a tendency to throw us curve balls without any warning. When that happens all we can do is react and then give ourselves permission to adjust later.

Have you ever tried to prepare for a blessing; a child on the way perhaps? You do your research, you read your books, and you listen to the free advice from everyone around you. Then the baby arrives and maybe you don't feel like you're ready. Don't worry. Your parental instincts are there, and the rest will come with time and experience.There are people there to help if you let them. The saying , 'It takes a village to raise a child' has more merit than you think.

Sometimes, the scene can play out simply by trying to get a lot of extra work done so you won't feel as guilty taking some personal time off. I know I fall into this category. I put the responsibility on myself to try not to inconvenience anyone when I am not at work. Although, cramming 60 hours worth of work into a 40 hour week probably isn't the healthiest of ideas. All you manage to do is wear yourself out before you take your time off. I've known people who could just clock out and say, 'Bye, see you in a week.' I wonder what their secret was.

I guess my question today is 'Can we ever really be prepared?' More importantly, should we even put that pressure on ourselves to try? Truth be told, we will do our best; sometimes we will succeed and sometimes we will fail. But that's okay.

What kinds of things do you plan for? 
What kinds of things would you rather go with the flow with?