Begin With The End In Mind

“Begin with the end in mind.” That was the advice my father gave to my nephew and his bride when he officiated their wedding ceremony this weekend.  Their marriage sealing took place in the Draper Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints where their marriage could be sealed for time and all eternity (as opposed to being married til death do you part).  My father’s advice to them was that they should go into this marriage remembering that their desired ending is being together forever as husband and wife, so as they face life’s challenges they will do so with love, respect, and complete fidelity.  By knowing where they want to end up, it is much easier to recognize what you need to do to make it happen.

That advice of beginning with the end in mind doesn’t just apply to starting off an eternal marriage, it applies to everything we do.  When we can identify the end goal we want to achieve we can map out the steps we need to take to accomplish it. That’s why goal-setting is so important to do. It narrows our focus and helps us see the path to head down.

I personally have found that beyond just writing a goal down on paper, if I can help myself visualize what that ending will look like it ensures I achieve it. That’s why I am such a huge advocate for creating a goal poster. When I find pictures that show what my end goal will look like and glue it to a poster board or put it in a PowerPoint it’s as if my mind instantly goes to work and I get to work making it come about. It’s amazing how the visualization of the goal makes things start falling into place.

I loved the reminder this weekend at the wedding to begin with the end in mind. I also loved getting to spend time with six of my nine siblings that came to town for the wedding. I don’t get to see all my siblings that often as we are spread out across the country so spending time with them was awesome and it was fun to reminisce about fun family stories of growing up in our family of ten kids. It made me realize how grateful I am that when my own parents were married nearly 58 years ago they began their marriage with the end in mind…a family that is forever…

~Amy Rees Anderson (author of “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel In Business & Life

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