7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens–Begin with the End in Mind
The second habit in 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens–Begin with the end in mind. Imagine dumping out a puzzle of 1000 pieces but having no picture on the box to put it together. How will you put all the pieces where they go if you have no idea what the end result should look like?
The same is true for our lives. If we have no vision or picture of who we want to be, and where we want to go, we leave our life up to chance. As the cat said, if we don’t care where we’re headed, it doesn’t matter which way we go.
Habit 1, be proactive, says we’re the driver of our lives. Habit 2, begin with the end in mind, teaches us to decide where we want to drive and draw a map of how to get there. It’s tough to figure out every single detail of our lives and how we want things to go. And even if we did, chances are things won’t always work out the way we plan. But we need to think beyond just today and decide what direction we want to head so that each step we take, each decision we make, we’re always heading in the right direction.
If we don’t decide our future and the direction we want to head, someone else will decide it for us. “Never assume that the herd must know where they are going because they usually don’t.”
Having no end in mind can be a really big problem. Having an end in mind that leads us in the wrong direction can be an even bigger problem. Sometimes we can be so busy “climbing the ladder of success we never take time to see if our ladder is leaning against the right wall.” It doesn’t matter how fast we’re going or how good we look doing it if we’re headed in the wrong direction, if our ladders are leaning on the wrong wall.
Some things that can help us when setting our goals (our “ends”) and trying to accomplish them. One, “count the cost”. What will it cost us to reach the goal. Not monetarily, but what will we have to DO to get what we want? What are the benefits? Be real.
Two, “Write it out”. “A goal not written is only a wish”. A written goal carries ten times the power. Writing things down makes them more real and for some reason helps us achieve our goals better.
Three, “Just Do it”. Once we fully commit to doing something, our power to do it will increase. Ralph Waldo Emerson said “If you do the thing, you will have the power.” Another quote that goes along with this “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right”. Committing to do something and just DOing it is a huge key to the success of our goals.
Howard Thurman once said “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
Remember that life is a mission and a chance for us to make a difference. If we keep this in mind and begin with the end in mind, we get to be the drivers of our lives and choose where we’re going!
