Keeping The End in Mind

One of the key points Dr. Covey stresses in his many publications is to Keep The End In Mind. While he discusses this in more than one context, he really drives home the point that we should keep the end of our lives in mind in terms of what we want it look like, what we want to have accomplished, how we want family and friends to remember us, and so on.

I was reminded of this when reading Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking where she mentions her husband saying, a couple of days before he died, how he felt that everything he had done had been worthless. That really hit home with me and made me wonder “since Vickie passed away five years ago, what I have done that has been worthwhile?” It’s a question I am thinking a lot about today, and probably will reflect on a lot over the next few days. Statistically, at almost 58 years old, I am in the Autumn of my life: when I get into to Winter, can I look back and say I served the world well?

I’ve almost immediately realized a couple of things in asking this question. One is that we should look at what we’ve done in comparison to what our potential is. I’ve done some good things, but as Vickie used to say: even a blind squirrel gets an acorn once in a while. When I compare what I’ve done to my potential, the answer is not so good.

Many of you are younger than me. Most of you have not lost a spouse. So, this is not likely to hit home with you like it has with me. Nonetheless, I hope you keep the thought in mind about keeping the end in mind, and that you live your life accordingly. I hope we are able on this site to help you do just that.