40-40-40 Plan

In another one of life’s many mini-experiments my latest, the 40-40-40 plan, never stood much of a chance. Mind you this is not some elaborate, significant plan for the betterment of mankind, but rather a simple, personal plan to lead a healthier, more productive life. More specifically, the idea was to tweak my habits such that I lose 40 pounds in 40 days by the time I turn 40 (40 in 40 by 40—certainly has a cool ring to it, though that may well be the only good thing going for it). Nevertheless, this was my latest in a long list of cockamamie schemes in the battle of the ever-expanding bulge. So, on the night prior to exactly 40 days before my 40th birthday, I went to sleep an over-stuffed, over-indulgent glutton and woke up…well, the same thing…but with a renewed sense of commitment to reduce the size of or rather to reduce in size.

As a math problem on paper, the plan is simple enough. [Example: If the Fatso-Guy wants to lose 40 pounds in 40 days, how many pounds would he have to lose each day? Or, if a deficit (i.e. – output minus input) of 2,000 calories equals a loss of one pound and he burns an average of 3,000 calories per day, how many calories can he consume each day in order to lose 40 pounds in 40 days?] No problem right? Wrong. You see in any plan involving the human factor, there will be intangibles and other immeasurable glitches that make it nearly impossible to ever craft the perfect one—“The best laid schemes of mice and men,” if you will. In this particular case, the impediments include but aren’t limited to unhealthy temptations (and/or tempters), willpower (or the lack thereof) and a generally rambunctious appetite that is rarely contained. Let’s just say that total victory is unlikely, but progress is imminent and sometimes progress is all we need.

Of course, it’s one thing to charge belly first into a plan set up for failure when it only affects yourself, but it’s quite another to pursue a course with implications on the lives and livelihoods of others. It’s kind of an important distinction, if you ask me—to separate your self (interests) from the interest of others. Again, it’s all well and good to take chances in dubious schemes for yourself, but not so much when dealing with matters affecting other people. At the very least: Know what you need to achieve, consider present levels with respect to achieving it, and chart a reasonable course for getting there—buy-in from others is, of course, a plus.

Advocates at the Northern Marianas Protection & Advocacy Systems, Inc., or NMPASI, are regularly called upon to participate in making plans that affect other people’s lives. And, perhaps, no such plans are more familiar than the Individualized Education Plans, or IEPs, and Individual Plans for Employment, or IPEs, respectively through the Special Education Program and the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. Not that it happens all the time or even often, but inevitably there will be personalities in the planning process who seem to care more about the bureaucratic procedures and required paperwork than they do about the people for which the plans are intended. It seems that, as long as they comply with minimum requirements and the plans are neatly written with “measurable” goals, it doesn’t really matter how it affects the individual or whether the individual agrees.

My favorite example: “[The student] will successfully cross the street 75 percent of the time”—talk about setting someone up for failure. It is measurable, even attainable and it has a fancy percentage symbol to boot—on paper it looks cool, but what happens the other 25 percent of the time? You see, every plan is only as good as the end result and, in the end, it really doesn’t matter how well the numbers line up or how many forms are filled out in the process.

Still, it does help to actually have a plan when setting out to accomplish anything. Inevitably, there will be challenges and other barriers, but none should ever preclude us from trying—may we all successfully cross the street 100 percent of the time.

For more information on IEP’s and/or IPE’s for individuals with disabilities, please contact the NMPASI Office at (670) 235-7273/4 [voice] / 235-7275 [fax] / 235-7278 [tty] or on-line at HYPERLINK “http://www.nmpasi.org” www.nmpasi.org.

Note: The above was written in conjunction with NMPASI’s Annual Statement of Goals and Priorities at a cost to its federal grant programs of approximately $125.