Plan or Perish

I suspect a lot of people would be a lot less outraged if they considered two possibilities Very Seriously before they opened their mouths or acted:

  1. Whatever the contest or competition or discussion — they need to have a thought-out plan for when they lose.
  2. Whatever the question, they need to be able to plan for and accept that the answer may be “no.” Not being willing to accept a “no” means it’s not actually a question.

Not having a “lost” plan or freaking out over a “no” is not the fault of the other person. It is simply bad planning.

There are few excuses for bad planning. That is, I’d say there are no excuses for bad planning, but I suppose once in a while, some pop up. They’re just pretty rare.

“I thought I’d win” is not an excuse for not planning in case of a loss.

“I expected a yes” is not an excuse for not accepting a no.