Pitfalls of Plan B?

<cross posted from www.goodvibeblog.com>

What I really want," one reader wrote, "is to give up my day job and devote time to my art."
 
She went on to say, "but in the meantime I'm starting work as an independent rep (for a multilevel marketing company) to get a new source of income going."

The plan was that she would eventually have enough money flowing in from her MLM efforts that she would no longer need to worry about money and then have all the time she wanted to create her art.

Her question was whether she was slowing up her art success by pursuing MLM business.

The "need to worry about money" statement was a tipoff that all was not quite well with her money vibe, but that's not what she asked about.  She wanted to know whether having (and actively working) a Plan B was an obstacle to getting what she really wanted.

Have you ever wondered the same thing?

Like when you're ordering up Mr. Right and Mr. Mostly Right shows up instead?  Or like when you want to lose weight effortlessly, but your trainer drives you to exhaustion three nights a week?  Or when you ask Universe for a financial windfall, but you keep an iron tight grip on finances in the meantime?

This reader certainly isn't the first person to wonder whether she's sending Universe conflicting messages by wanting one thing yet pursuing another more "reasonable" or "realistic" option.

I asked her to consider how having Plan B felt, since what might feel like a safety net to one person could feel like a death trap to another.  It's a very individual response, and there isn't any right or wrong about how we get to where we truly want.

But today I heard a different response from Abraham.  (No, I have not joined the ranks of those "channeling" Abe!  I was listening to the February San Fran workshop.)

A woman sitting in the hot seat at a recent workshop asked if there was anything wrong with pursuing Plan B when you really really wanted something else.  Abe said something like there wasn't anything wrong with having Plan B, and that doing so just assures Plan B will manifest.

Ouch!  That's not what we wanted!

Abe explained the reason we create Plan Bs is because we don't really believe we can have Plan A.  Since our beliefs dictate what manifests, having a Plan B is a sign that what you truly want is out of your current reach.  (Because you don't really believe it's possible.)  Nothing wrong with it, but a good thing to know, huh?

Which, when you consider this, brings to mind the courage required to live life without a backup plan.

I have to admit, I'm not sure I'd be writing today as the Good Vibe Coach if I wasn't allowed to tell myself that if all else failed I'd just find another job.  My coach encouraged that thought, because it helped me remember that everything would be okay, one way or another.

(However, I didn't actually work the plan, I just held it in the back of mind.)

This is an intricate topic, so I'm offering it up here for our entertainment.  What do YOU think?

Have Plan Bs served you well or brought you to compromise and settling for less than what you want?   And who has a great story to tell about living life with no safety net?  I'd love to hear where you're at with this subject!  (see all comments at http://goodvibeblog.com/?p=368)