If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today? You wait to answer the question. Why — because you are hoping the response is different from yesterday and the days before. Regrettably, you close your eyes, and your stomach sours, “No.”
The answer has been “No” for too many weeks in a row. You begin to panic as the old questions resurface:
● What are my life’s aspirations?
● What do I value?
● What are my talents?
● At the end of my life, what do I want to have accomplished?
Author Peter M. Senge notes, “We say that’s a very interesting idea when we have no intention of taking the idea seriously.” Senge continues, “Personal mastery is the discipline of continually clarifying and deepening our personal vision, of focusing our energies, of developing patience, and of seeing reality objectively.”
You do have a personal vision — to do the work that inspires others so they can do the work that inspires them. It has been a strategy for years, but are you treating your vision like a purpose or an idea?
It is time to shift your mindset.
To shed your self-limiting beliefs and draw energy from self-sustaining growth. How — not by pushing your growth, but removing the barriers limiting your growth. One tool that can help on your journey is systems thinking.
Senge explains, “Systems thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static snapshots.” He continues, “Vision without systems thinking ends up painting lovely pictures of the future with no deep understanding of the forces that must be mastered to move from here to there.”
You have spent many decades of painting lovely pictures. It is time you get a deep understanding of the forces that must be mastered to move forward. You must begin by revisiting those old questions:
● What are my life’s aspirations?
● What do I value?
● What are my talents?
● At the end of my life, what do I want to have accomplished?
Do the questions terrify you? Motivational speaker Les Brown warns you, “Imagine being on your death bed, and standing around you is the ghost of the dreams, the ideas, the abilities, the talents given to you by life. That you for whatever reason, you never went after that dream. You never acted on those ideas. You never used them talents. You never used those gifts; and there they are standing beside your bed, looking at YOU with large, angry eyes saying we came to you and only you could have given us life!… And now..we must die with you forever.”
The questions were never meant to terrify you.
The questions are an evolution into the principles that will anchor your vision. Do not let your dreams, ideas, and abilities die with you — instead:
● Digest the questions over weeks.
● Document what comes to you.
● Identify patterns and act.
● Review and update frequently.
If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today? Your immediate response is, “Yes.” Why — because you have done the work that inspires others to do the work that inspires them.
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Originally published in Thrive Global. Used with permission.
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