Why Your Plan B Might Be the Biggest Threat to Your Success
For vision-led leaders who want to stop playing it safe and start playing full out.
Bring to mind your biggest, boldest goal—personally or professionally.
The one that wakes you up at night. The one that lights you up and terrifies you in equal measure.
Now ask yourself this:
Do you have a Plan B?
If you do, you’re not alone. We’ve been taught that having a backup plan is responsible, strategic—even essential. It feels smart to prepare for failure… but what if that very preparation is quietly sabotaging your ability to succeed?
What if your Plan B is the reason your Plan A hasn’t come to life yet?
The Hidden Cost of a Safety Net
On paper, a backup plan makes sense. In practice, it often signals to your subconscious that failure is on the table. That doubt begins to erode your focus, your effort, and your emotional commitment.
Here’s how it plays out:
- Your energy gets divided. You’re mentally holding space for two different outcomes. That means you’re not showing up 100% for either. Plan A can’t thrive on half-effort.
- You start hedging your bets. Instead of taking bold, decisive action, you move cautiously—protecting yourself from risk but also from reward.
- You invite self-doubt. The presence of a Plan B subtly tells your brain, “This might not work.” That seed of doubt grows fast, especially under pressure.
- You stay safe. Growth lives outside your comfort zone. But if you’re clinging to a backup, you’re more likely to stay in familiar territory. You’ll miss the very stretch that would have changed everything.
- You miss the moment. Opportunity loves clarity. When you’re split, you may overlook the breakthrough that was right in front of you.
The Leadership Shift: Decide, Declare, Deliver
Great leaders don’t succeed because they always have a backup plan. They succeed because they make a decision—and then they build the road forward with conviction.
This is your reminder: clarity is a leadership act.
When you commit fully to one vision, one path, one outcome, you ignite the kind of momentum that Plan B thinking could never produce. You send a signal to your team, your network, and most importantly yourself: I believe in this enough to go all in.
Above-the-Line Leadership Move
Today’s move: Publicly declare your Plan A.
Whether in your team meeting, on social media, or in your journal, or in the comments —say it out loud. Let the people around you witness your clarity. And let that commitment shape how you show up this week.
Here’s a prompt to get you started:
“In this season, I’m all in on ___. No Plan B.”
Your Turn
What’s the one vision you’re all in on right now?
Drop it in the comments—or share it in your own post and tag me on Instagram @carmenohling. Declare it publicly.
No hedging. No soft landings. Just full-hearted commitment.
Let’s make “No Plan B” your leadership move this quarter.
