Most of our activities, whatever type they may be, seem to be planned now days - at least from the adult point of view. As kids most of what we did was spontaneous with the occasional planning thrown in. The planning side of things was fun and usually made things better unless one of us got too hung up on forcing the plan to come through. What this meant was that a little "spur of the moment" creativity, whenever the occasion merited it was not only welcome but put some icing on the cake.

When planning anything, be it work related or for an outdoor activity, a good balancing act that takes into account creativity and allowing things to move slightly away from the straight and narrow planned path, will usually bring greater benefits than just following the dotted line.

There are very few people who will get good results just by being spontaneous while at the same time a plan that leaves room for maneuver will usually be the better for it. And the reasons are quite simple:

No plan - will usually mean that the results end up being dry and boring; and for certain types of activities, including outdoor expeditions, probably dangerous as well.
No plan - will also usually end up as no results, or not the positive one anyway. The least one should do is have some sort of a target.
No plan - means no route and this in turn means any result is just that, any result.
Strict and Fixed plans -and especially the more complicated they are, run a great risk of not achieving the results you were shooting for. Things outside of our control happen. And these are usually small things that in themselves are not insurmountable but tend to build up on themselves. With a little leeway things can continue and be corrected. With a fixed, inflexible plan, they will end up turning into full scale crisis. No plan can cover every eventuality so it is best to accept that and keep on going.
While a plan that has no room for flexibility may be some people's cup of tea, an outdoor mentality implies a slight yearning for adventure. Safety and goal achievement will mean planning, while fun and surprise will mean having room for spontaneity.

The interesting thing is that both of these should not force a contradiction. It is not a question of choosing one over the other, but of going for the third option and this one should be a blend of both - sometimes more of one and other times half a dozen of the other.

Say you woke up this morning and on the spur of the moment decided to invite friends over for a barbecue. It is a spontaneous gesture and if you back it up with some basic planning - who brings what, where, when and so on, then you have the makings of a great day. Enough planning so you can have the barbecue, and the rest would be up to your guests and you.

Another even more important thing occurs when you are used to adding creativity and spontaneity into your life, and perhaps the best playing ground for this is with outdoor activities and including organized sports. Apart from greater enjoyment and greater possibilities of success, you get used to responding creatively to the unexpected.

Life is full of the unexpected (otherwise, as I never tire of stating, life would be really boring), and if you are set in your ways and look to plan everything, you will not have trained yourself to react by thinking (promptly) outside the box, choosing a course of action and finally acting.

This is a three step process:

Think, Choose and Act.

If you miss out on any of these three you will probably regret it.

D.P. Robinson enjoys writing about personal development and the outdoors (including cooking!) - a combination that has come about as a result of being a father to five, having three dogs, a rabbit and being very happily married. Visit one of his latest websites located at: http://www.colemanpropanestove.org where he provides information and resources on Coleman Propane Stove.