To What End?

I've found that the better I am able to answer the 'to what end' questions in my life, the more effective I am. But I've also found that I do not always remember to subject all my actions to this very crucial question, and I therefore find that way too many of the things I spend valuable time on do not contribute to the legacy I want to leave on this earth.

And so today as I spent some time reflecting on the way I use my time, I realized I need to better align my time with the vision I have for my life, my destiny and ultimately my legacy. Not surprisingly, my thoughts led me quietly back to this big question I like to ask my staff, my children and my friends: "to what end"? Am I doing stuff just for the sake of doing them? To mark check boxes off? To provide a report of 'busy' work?  Obviously the question that best provides an answer (yes, questions can provide answers 😊) to all of this is , 'to what end?'

The architect whose vision is to design and build a cathedral is way more likely to achieve that goal than his companion who simply draws one blue print after another with no ultimate end in mind. The blogger whose vision it is to write a book will more likely reach that goal than the one who blogs with no end in mind. I know that, yet I do not always live like I do.

No wonder therefore that as I watched my time dwindle away today I kept hearing the words of Benjamin Franklin ringing in my head, "Dost thou love life, then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of."  No-brainer, right? But we aren't talking outright wasting time now are we? No, we are talking about spending valuable time doing work, busy work to which we are unable to connect a long term goal our vision, desires destiny and legacy.

So how did I course-correct today? I got me a pen and paper and reminded myself what I want my legacy to be. I reflected on the way I spent my day and questioned whether my activities were in any small way aligned to the legacy I plan to leave behind. Yeah, admittedly, sometimes we need to give ourselves a break.... but not for too long. When all is said and done I want my life here on earth to have counted . And so I reach for my filter 'to what end' and if the answer isn't leading in the direction of my legacy, I let go. And so today I invite you to hold your actions up to scrutiny and consider the very important life question, 'to what end'? What you do after you answer that question is entirely up to you.