How will you know when you get there?
“Know where you’re going so that you better understand where you are now and so that the steps you take are always in the right direction.” —Stephen R. Covey
If the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall, he liked to say, you’ll only get to the wrong place faster.
The question is not,”What do you want to do when you grow up?”
It’s, “Who do you want to be?”
How do you want to contribute?
What legacy do you want to leave when you’re gone?
It might be part of what you do for a living. It might not. More likely, it will be a whole-person approach to living.
Ask the right question and you’ll get a better answer.
That dream job you think about.
That perfect business you think of starting.
What if you couldn’t charge for it? What if you had to make your living doing something else?
Would you still want to do it?
If so, that’s a good definition of a calling in life.
Life is like a tuning fork: when struck, the tuning fork resonates a true pitch, one that doesn’t alter as long as it rings. Each of us is like a musician in an orchestra: we must strive to tune ourselves to that tuning fork, the true pitch ringing in our lives.
How much effort do we expend trying to create our lives, our careers, our families, based on how others have succeeded? We strive to emulate other families – keeing up with the Joneses next door. We constantly research which careers pay the most or have the most advancement potential, hoping that the next job is the right fit.
It doesn’t work.
Each of us has unique characteristics and traits we were either born with or developed over time. Would not we be better served in trying to find things in the world that matched us, rather than attempting to mold ourselves into something “out there” in the world?
It would be like a musician seeing a tuning fork then creating his own, hoping that it was the right pitch but with no knowledge of the subject (himself). Were he to use it to tune his instrument, he would find that the pitch isn’t correct.
Your mission in life isn’t something you create; neither is wisdom. Victor Frankl said that we detect rather than invent our missions in life. It’s already there: you must simply align yourself with it, not strive to create it.
Wisdom isn’t created – you cannot make yourself wise. You must seek it out, finding it in others who have come before you, in scripture or great writing, and in your own experience of the world.
“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life….Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus, everyone’s task is as unique as is his specific opportunity to implement it.” – Victor Frankl
Tweet
Seek your mission; seek wisdom.
Don’t miss a thing! Subscribe below to get updates delivered directly to your inbox.
(I had to jump on the bandwagon and write one of these “20/20 vision” posts; I hope you will forgive me.)
I once had 20/20 vision in both eyes; a degenerative disorder in my right eye quickly reduced my vision to around 20/80. With glasses, I am able to see at approximately 20/40.
Speaking metaphorically, my 20/40 vision will probably serve me better than 20/20 ever would. Here’s why:
I could make all sorts of plans for 2020, and if I achieved them, you might consider me quite successful. But how would we truly know?
If I only look to the end of 2020, all that I accomplish this year might take me in the wrong direction. Only by looking further out, to 2040 and beyond, can I truly know if what I accomplish this year will matter long-term.
I have to determine what I want said about me on my 50th birthday, not my 30th. What will be important to me in 20 years? What are my principles and values I wish to live by? What is my mission? What achievements and contributions do I wish to have and make? If I die at 50, what do I want said about me at my funeral?
Having that 2020 vision is great; we should all strive to accomplish extraordinary things this year. Just make sure that you look out far enough, so that what you accomplish this year has meaning in 2040 and beyond.
Happy New Year, all.
Don’t miss a thing! Subscribe below to receive thoughts and insights delivered directly to your inbox.
You must define it.
What is it that you value? What principles do you want to guide your life?
Love? Kindness? Generosity? Education? Career?
What kind of person to you want to be?
Curious? Successful? Entrepreneurial? Intelligent? Understanding?
What do you want to do?
Write a book? Go skydiving? Play at Carnegie Hall?
What do you want to have?
A five-bedroom home? Two children? A golden retriever? A BMW?
What do you want people to say about you at your funeral?
Until you start defining your vision for your future, you cannot truly determine what your path to success will be.
Don’t miss a thing! Subscribe to recieve updates as soon as they post.
Nathan's Blog 