Plan for Worst, Pray for Best

Posted September 26th, 2005

Ahuma Adodoadji, director of emergency operations for CARE USA, says a rule of thumb in planning for emergencies is “plan for the worst-case scenario and pray for the best-case scenario.” I don’t think most people are good at either one of those options. My observation is that we plan for the best, thinking that the worst case won’t actually happen. When the worst-case happens, that is when we get to praying. I sure heard lots of leaders and other people asking for prayer the past few weeks.

Having been involved in emergency responses over the years, an organization needs people who practice the positive power of negative thinking. This concept is from an interesting book by Julie Norem. I recommend it for those who need to plan for the worst-case scenario, but have trouble doing so. It’s available on Amazon: The Positive Power of Negative Thinking: Using Defensive Pessimism to Harness Anxiety and Perform at Your Peak.

Adodoadgi was interviewed by Mark Bixler in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on September 14, 2005. The most important thing he said, in my opinion, is that all the people on the ground need support and gratitude from all of us.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 26th, 2005 at 8:44 pm and is filed under In the News.