Sunday Night Pre-Game: Beginning with the End in Mind
Many of
those people who know me now may find it incredibly hard to believe that I was
once a disaster zone when it came to being organized, planning, and staying on
top of things. During my professional career to date, I have been the one who has
always been prepared, has followed up with and held others accountable, and has
never missed a beat when curve balls came my way! Large, complex projects with
a million details that must be addressed, considered, or incorporated? Got it,
and no problem!
However, getting to that point wasn't easy; it took me years of dedicated learning and understanding that culminated in the development of a system for approaching tasks that worked best for me and how my brain functions.
I will never forget the day when I was in fourth grade that my father first came home from work with his brand-new, work-issued Franklin Planner. That was the day that my 25-year love affair with organization and, eventually, Stephen R. Covey (once he came into the fold a few years down the road) and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This day in elementary school was also the first day of my journey of personal growth and development.
Clumsy at first (as any newbie is), my first attempts at organizing my overachiever lifestyle—so that I could have the time to do it all—were hardly fruitful. The lack of real results and change I initially saw were disheartening and frustrating. The first real game-changer that took me from a whirlwind of disaster to a go-to woman for getting top-notch results, was when I started blocking out my week and planning what specifically I would get done when. Upon applying this approach, I started having time for all those things that really mattered and really began to have an impact on the kind of life I lived.
Did how I actually spent my time 100% match what I planned would happen? Heck no! There are too many variables in life, and you simply can't plan for everything that can and will come your way.
So, why bother doing it, then?
People who ask that question often don't end up even initiating any planning—i.e., starting the development of a vision or framework for how they want to spend their time over a set period of time—and these individuals generally veer further away from their goals as time progresses, leading to them achieving less and less. In other words, they largely never come to understand the true value of beginning something with the end in mind—Covey’s second habit.
By having a game plan in place for the week, month, or another specific period of time, a person can make better-informed choices about addressing what comes their way and how they want to and ultimately do spend their time. Returning to my corporate career, when someone came to me asking for help with something, in the moment that they made the request and I responded to it, I consciously made sure I knew precisely what I was saying “yes” to—and what I was also saying “no” to. Having this understanding made it much easier to say “no” to someone and to give them a firm “no” when such was needed. With these actions, I had begun to internalize the concept of "begin with the end in mind" and framing the way I viewed the world around me. I believe that it was this shift that enabled me to start living a vision-driven life, and why being a DreamBuilder Coach and Life Mastery Consultant resonated with me so strongly. I already "get" how and why it works—thus, I find myself in a position of being able to convey and apply this now, and wanting to help others do the same.
It's difficult to make good choices without having a clear idea of exactly where you want to go. In sailing, they have the expression, "No wind favors he who has no destined port." When you don't make good choices about how you spend your time, you may suddenly find yourself without the time-freedom to do the things that mean the most to you.
If you haven't watched it yet, you should check out this famous video from Stephen R. Covey. See what I'm talking about—it will start to shift your life, and how much time-freedom you have!
As always, keep on moving courageously towards your dreams, friends!
However, getting to that point wasn't easy; it took me years of dedicated learning and understanding that culminated in the development of a system for approaching tasks that worked best for me and how my brain functions.
I will never forget the day when I was in fourth grade that my father first came home from work with his brand-new, work-issued Franklin Planner. That was the day that my 25-year love affair with organization and, eventually, Stephen R. Covey (once he came into the fold a few years down the road) and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This day in elementary school was also the first day of my journey of personal growth and development.
Clumsy at first (as any newbie is), my first attempts at organizing my overachiever lifestyle—so that I could have the time to do it all—were hardly fruitful. The lack of real results and change I initially saw were disheartening and frustrating. The first real game-changer that took me from a whirlwind of disaster to a go-to woman for getting top-notch results, was when I started blocking out my week and planning what specifically I would get done when. Upon applying this approach, I started having time for all those things that really mattered and really began to have an impact on the kind of life I lived.
Did how I actually spent my time 100% match what I planned would happen? Heck no! There are too many variables in life, and you simply can't plan for everything that can and will come your way.
So, why bother doing it, then?
People who ask that question often don't end up even initiating any planning—i.e., starting the development of a vision or framework for how they want to spend their time over a set period of time—and these individuals generally veer further away from their goals as time progresses, leading to them achieving less and less. In other words, they largely never come to understand the true value of beginning something with the end in mind—Covey’s second habit.
By having a game plan in place for the week, month, or another specific period of time, a person can make better-informed choices about addressing what comes their way and how they want to and ultimately do spend their time. Returning to my corporate career, when someone came to me asking for help with something, in the moment that they made the request and I responded to it, I consciously made sure I knew precisely what I was saying “yes” to—and what I was also saying “no” to. Having this understanding made it much easier to say “no” to someone and to give them a firm “no” when such was needed. With these actions, I had begun to internalize the concept of "begin with the end in mind" and framing the way I viewed the world around me. I believe that it was this shift that enabled me to start living a vision-driven life, and why being a DreamBuilder Coach and Life Mastery Consultant resonated with me so strongly. I already "get" how and why it works—thus, I find myself in a position of being able to convey and apply this now, and wanting to help others do the same.
It's difficult to make good choices without having a clear idea of exactly where you want to go. In sailing, they have the expression, "No wind favors he who has no destined port." When you don't make good choices about how you spend your time, you may suddenly find yourself without the time-freedom to do the things that mean the most to you.
If you haven't watched it yet, you should check out this famous video from Stephen R. Covey. See what I'm talking about—it will start to shift your life, and how much time-freedom you have!
As always, keep on moving courageously towards your dreams, friends!
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