Learning to Steer

Every week--as I continue to journal about what I'd like to see happen at work, with my family, with my health, and with my neighborhood community council work--I get a little bit clearer about where I think I'm heading.  I'm learning to steer.

It is easiest, at least right now, to imagine the very near term:  wouldn't it be great if I finished a computer model at work?  If I arranged for college visits to Chicago with my kids over spring break?  If the neighborhood community council that I'm President of signed a contract with a consultant to revitalize the business district?  If I did a better job of slowing down and relaxing deeply in the last couple of hours before bed?  I have more trouble imagining where I want to be 5 years from now than where I want to be by Friday.  But if I get used to reaching my goals each week, I'll be better able to reach for big, long term goals with confidence.

Ask This First

Too often, I've started each day with the question, "What do I need to do today?"  That's the wrong question to start with.  The first question of the day should be, "What would I like to see happen today?"  Once I've clarified what I hope will happen, it is easy to figure out what I need to do.

What difference does it make?  It is the difference between dwelling on obligation and dwelling on opportunity.  Brainstorming the things I'd like to see happen today, or this week, or this year causes me to think about what is possible, to hope, to reach for things I might otherwise have not thought about.  It's more energizing than brainstorming tasks.

I still need to brainstorm tasks because actions are how I will get where I want to go.  But too often I've just started my days filling out "To Do Lists" and, often, this can feel like I'm doing what I have to do versus what I want to do.  If I first picture how I'd like to have fun and what I'd like to accomplish (not the details but the result), the same "To Do List" feels like a path to get something I want rather than work that has been imposed on me from outside.  Same exact tasks, same work, but a different sense of control.

I've been thinking about this lately because of the journaling I've been doing related to the outcomes I'd like to see in my work and in my personal life.  This journaling has helped me see that visualizing outcomes is primary.  Visualizing the steps to get there is essential, but it ought to come second.