Rule 19 of 22 · Chapter V — On the Long Run
Choose people over plans
Why this rule exists
Plans are easy to worship because they feel like control. But nobody, at the end, wishes they'd guarded their schedule more fiercely. The people are the point; the plan was only ever the scaffolding. I've cancelled things I looked forward to for a friend who needed me, and I have never once regretted which one I chose.
In practice
When a person and a plan collide, lean toward the person, especially when they rarely ask. Take the call. Change the date. Show up for the hard day even when it's inconvenient. I try to hold my plans loosely enough that the people I love can always interrupt them.
When it doesn't apply
Choosing people over plans can't mean abandoning every commitment on a whim; some plans are promises to other people. And a person who needs you to drop everything constantly may need a boundary more than your presence. Discernment, not reflex.