Can to much planning destroy the event?

I read a quote today from Jane Austen that said:

"Why not seize the pleasure at once? How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!"

This coming from one a highly acclaimed novelist, but how true?

How many of us sit and plan out all the details of an event or a day just to get so frustrated and overwhelmed that we actually plan ourselves right out of happiness?

I am a planner, an organizer, a list maker. I love to plan and organize and organize and plan. It is in my blood. This weekend we had a plan for delivering some treats to all of our friends and it took a little planning to organize all the stops. It worked out well but we didn't get everything done. My first thought was "darn, we didn't do what we had planned to do!" My mind quickly went to "But wait, we did exactly what we could do and in the mean time we connected with friends we hadn't for a long time!"

Had we stuck to the plan of 'drop and go' we wouldn't have share some laughs with our friends. We wouldn't have had a cup of coffee and caught up a little. We wouldn't have experienced a little Christmas cheer along the way. Yes we could have gotten everything done, but at what expense?

Sometime I think planning can really destroy the event, especially around this time of the year when everyone seems to want to get here or there and get things done. What about enjoying the adventure - the journey?

I was sitting "planning" out a vacation last night and as I did the voice said "wait, vacations are to experience not plan"! Now I know what some of you are thinking and yes I will plan some parts of the vacation, but seriously do I need to know right now what we will do every minute of every day? No! What happens if we want to experience something for longer then planned?

I know it is a busy week for everyone and my challenge is to plan cautiously and allow for the experience to happen. Don't worry about spending a little more time or energy doing the unplanned happiness times. Be okay and actually celebrate the event!

Here is to a carefully yet openly planned week!