Thinking with the End in Mind Revisited?!
This week I wanted to share a little snippet of the book from Chapter 10 entitled Thinking With The End In Mind Revisited.
It is all about your perspective and how you view your sport, your journey so far, and your target destinations moving into the future in sport and life.
Hope you enjoy it!
Destination Redefined
“Let me introduce you to author and artist Charlie Mackesy. He wrote about redefining one’s perspective about life, relationships, and how we view the world in his book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse. Mackesy writes with whimsy, coupled with beautiful art and illustration. The story begins with a boy talking to a mole, and the dialogue helps us redefine our destination and the process. The mole asks the boy, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “Kind,” said the boy.“What do you think success is?” asked the boy.“To love,” said the mole.
I’m curious, how would you answer those same questions. When you were younger, was it your dream to be a professional athlete, successful businesswoman, or even own a business? How about success? Did you define it as winning trophies, championships, large contracts, power, fame, or having your name all over social media? When you look at your life, one of the hardest aspects is seeing beyond the moment in front of you and the single-minded focus of winning and achieving athletic success, but there is so much more to this life and the impact you can have within it.
The reality is that we don’t know exactly when we will leave this Earth, but it will happen at some point. Our lives are finite whether we acknowledge it or not. So, what does it look like for you to make the most of your life, your time here on Earth? You are more than the game you play. Your performance isn’t what defines you or what determines your significance and value. You have so much to offer this world and specifically the people you interact with each day. My hope is that you maximize your life and impact to the fullest, which does include, but isn’t limited to, athletic success. To do that, the long-term and redefined perspective of thinking with the end in mind has to be clear.”
How do you view success? What destinations are you striving toward?
Do your future destinations include life and success outside of your sport and championships?
Make the most of your time as an athlete, but know you are truly greater than your sport. Think through a new lens, change your perspective, redefine your destinations!
Your transitions are opportunities, seize them today!
Jonathan