Begin With The End In Mind

I encourage you to read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Dr. Stephen R. Covey.

I am certain that the principles covered in the book will resonate with you, both as a Martial Artist and as a productive individual.

Yellow Belt…

Habit 2 – Begin With The End In Mind, is a powerful concept.

It encourages you to “finish before you start.”

The basic premise is to imagine that you are at the end of your life, looking back at it.

If you embrace this exercise appropriately, you will immediately realize that the life you are looking back at, is the life you are living right now.

You will become aware that you have the power to change it, if you decide to.

Habit 2 gives you a chance to choose what you want to accomplish and who you want to be.

As you give your full awareness to the condition of your life, it will give you an incredibly clear picture of where you are, and where you are going.

More to the point, it will give you a greater understanding of who you are, and who you are going to be.

You can also apply the principle of Begin With The End In Mind to short-term and mid-term goal setting.

You will profoundly increase your success when it comes to achieving your objectives, if you know what they are.

Unfortunately, many of us are reluctant to declare a specific goal because of the possibility of failure.

Ironically, avoiding goal declaration actually guarantees failure.

A relevant example is the goal of earning your Black Belt.

Achieving the rank of Black Belt is not an accident.

It happens on purpose.

It is the result of a decision most of us make by the time we earn our Yellow Belt.

You earn your White Belt by demonstrating the courage to embark upon a new endeavor - by being proactive, which is Habit 1.

You earn your Yellow Belt through consistency and commitment to your progress.

When you attain your Yellow Belt, you are encouraged to seriously consider: your commitment to training, the meaning of what you are learning, the value you stand to gain in exchange for your dedication and diligence, and how your journey to Black Belt will serve the people in your life who matter most to you.

That’s a lot, isn’t it?

It is supposed to be.

Nobody waits until they reach Brown Belt, to set Black Belt as their goal.

The decision to earn a Black Belt in the Martial Arts happens early, even amongst those who are reluctant to discuss it.

Your instructor will certainly encourage you to set Black Belt as your minimum goal.

As with your journey to Black Belt, the more clear you are about the direction of your life, the more likely you are to live it out accordingly.

Do you have the courage required to think about who you will be in the future?

It can be a real challenge.

If you are finding it difficult or painful, I have a suggestion.

You do not have to look at your past or the present.

Put that aside for now.

Imagine what you want in the future.

Think about how you want the people closest to you, to remember you.

Then you will know exactly how you must live your life from here on out.

It is simple, but not easy.

Examining the potential trajectory of your life is a high stakes exercise.

This is why starting with something of lesser significance, like the path to Black Belt, can be a powerful step in the right direction.

Lastly, those who have earned their Black Belt know that it is not “the” end, and in fact, is very much a new beginning.

You may prefer to begin with “an” end in mind.

To get there, we must learn to “Put First Things First”, which is Habit 3 from Dr. Covey’s work.

We will take a close look at Habit 3, this week.