Try disassociating. You’re walking into a funeral, your own funeral. You’re lying in a casket, your friends and family are gathered—preparing to speak about you. What would you like to hear them say? If your funeral were to take place could they honestly speak the way you wish? Does the character you present align with the character you wish to be remembered by? Now look at your life as it is, are you currently doing things which would reflect the character you wish to outlive you?
I challenge you to use this image, the end of your life, as a frame of reference to which you can examine your behavior. After all, mere moments make up a lifetime. By keeping this mental picture clearly in your head you can easily determine what contributes to the vision you have come up with for your life.
Knowing your destination takes precedence, even over the method in which you get there. You could spend years climbing the ladder, working hard, just to find out you were going the wrong direction, scaling the wrong wall. Though you’ve expended tons of energy you have nothing to show for it, you were engaged without being effective.
Chasing victories could very well be the wrong direction. You can hustle 24/7 for higher income, recognition, or professional competence, only to realize your drive to reach these goals acted as blinders narrowing your gaze from what truly mattered. You could be climbing the ladder fast but if you’re going up the wrong wall you’re just getting to the wrong place faster. You’re getting things done, being efficient, but you’re not being effective if you don’t have the end in mind.
You can avoid running yourself dry chasing ambitions you never truly wanted by remembering the end game, what do you want when this is over. All things are created at least twice. It always starts with a thought, you first create a picture in your mind, then you make it a reality in the physical world. The first creation must be perfect, taking every detail into consideration before starting the physical creation. Like blueprints for a house must be complete before construction begins, so must your projects. Otherwise, you’ll end up on a hamster wheel, running in circles wasting time and energy because you didn’t have a clear vision.
The next step is to consciously design our creations. We already know that everything is created twice– but sometimes the first creation is an accident. When we lack in self-awareness, the first creation could be handed to us from someone else, or it could arise from circumstance or habit. We need to take advantage of our capability to use our conscience, imagination, and self-awareness to create these blueprints and solidify our destination so that we have a clear vision.
