Consider the End

“In Everything One Must Consider the End.”
Jean de la Fontaine

“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do.”
Epictetus

Like so many of the adages covered in this book, this quote is deceptively simple. It is tempting to respond, “But of course!” Yet not many of us take full advantage of this concept. It has many applications, some more obvious than others.

Consider the track athlete that competes in the pole vault. Like virtually all successful athletes, they visualize themselves flying completely over the bar, in perfect form. Research has shown this is true of all superior athletes in all sports. They visualize the end.
Quite a divergent example is a jigsaw puzzle. Why is it easier to complete a jigsaw puzzle when you look at the picture on the front of the box? Because you can visualize the end.

Or knowing that the goal of a hike is the mountain at the end of the valley makes each step along the way more obvious because we see the end clearly.

The same is true in many other aspects of our lives, including our work lives. When we arrive at work in the morning, we should visualize what a successful day looks like. What will we have accomplished? What results will we have produced? What message will we have conveyed to our customers, our clients, our co-workers?

When we are planning an important meeting or conversation, we should consider what the end looks like. What do we want the other people to be thinking after it is over? What action do we want them to take? What do we want them to say to others as a result of that meeting or conversation? Compared with how things were before the meeting, how do we want things to be different after the meeting? (If we can’t answer that one, maybe we don’t need the meeting).

If we submit a report at the end of each month, conceptualize what we want that report to look like at the beginning of the month. What is it that we will report? What results will we have accomplished? What goals will have been hit? Then take the action needed to make that report a reality.

Additionally, as we set out to develop annual plans, we visualize what the end of the year looks like. How will it be different from the beginning of the year? What is it that will make us feel good, feel proud about the year just ending?

There are many reasons why the visualization process is important. As mentioned, with the end in mind, each step between the beginning and the finish becomes more obvious. Just as the pole vault athlete’s body adjusts, conforms, and performs in just the right way to make the visualized vault a reality, when we share our vision for the end with our co-workers and associates, they too will alter their actions to make that vision a reality.

If we visualize what the end of the day will look like, it is much more likely that it will be a good day. When we plan for the end of a meeting or conversation, it is startling how successful we can be in achieving the desired results. With our end-of-month report defined beforehand, it is amazing how clear it becomes what must be done to make it a reality. With a shared vision for what the end of a planning period looks like, it is heartening to see the teamwork that transpires in support of it.
To summarize this concept, here are some of the specific tools to apply on a daily basis:

• At the start of each day, list the accomplishments that you would like to share during a conversation with your spouse or friend at the end of the day
• If you write a monthly report, write it at the beginning of the month, then do what you have to do to make it a reality
• When planning an important meeting or presentation, write down a few quotes that you would like to hear key people saying as they leave the meeting or presentation, then plan accordingly
• Think of the positive comments you’d like to hear from your supervisor during your performance review, then take steps that will result in them becoming reality
• Write a letter to a family member, dated several years in the future, about what your life will be like at that time. Cover as many aspects of your life as possible, such as your career, relationships, your finances, how you spend your recreational time, etc. Extract key elements of that letter to develop an action plan that will make the letter something you could really send
• At the end of any planning period (at the end of the day, at the end of the month, at the end of the meeting, etc.), review your notes and evaluate how you did.