That’s something I always tell people when I’m training them at something. Essentially what I a mean is have a plan. Life is a chess match. If you’re always just reacting to what the opposition is doing you will always lose. You HAVE to think 5 moves ahead anticipate what they could be planning and ways that you can make their moves not count for shit.
If you have time draw things out, be as thorough as possible. Make a list of necessities. Mitigate any weaknesses. Have an egress plan. Have a backup plan. Write it all out, reference it when necessary. If you don’t have time at least have some hasty idea of what you want to accomplish. Even if its just a thought its something that you can keep in the back of your mind to keep pushing for. Sometimes just a sheer iron will to not accept defeat is all you need to succeed.