September 29th - Habit 2 - Begin with the End in Mind

The second of Covey's seven habits is to "Begin with the End in Mind." This habit hits home with me for several reasons. One, it fits my planning intuition; two, it is an area that really needs to move forward in a couple of fronts around me; and three, it is an area which I seem to do well in some environments (work) and not so well in others (home).

At work I am usually very much in tune with what the expected outcome is (or should be), with trying to pin work to business strategy, with attempting to look forward to the what's and why's. I see holes or opportunities and I try to do the first habit, be proactive, and then do the second habit by trying to climb up to the "top of the tree" (pg101) and see which forest we're in. At home, it seems like things are much more fluid and I approach things in a more unplanned way. But, frustratingly so. Things that haven't gotten done that need to are still undone. I find myself most disappointed with beginning with the end in mind with my relationship with my kids and wife. This is an area to explore, but really want I want is a more proactive and designed experience. In practical terms I really want to do a family mission and vision statement to bring us all together into a more common set of expectations for decisions we make going forward.

The concept of the two creations was great. The first creation is the mental creation, the plan - Leadership (according to Warren Bennis). The second creation is the actual accomplishing of those things planned. I agreed to the observations that the management side of beginning with the end in mind first starts with the mental awareness and planning of the first creation. This was preceded by the discussion of "by Design or Default" which made me think about whether or not the experiences we are having (the second creations) are really just defaults left over from the lack of being proactive. Or, are we (as a family, a business, etc) seeing the vision and then actually delivering according to that vision (as opposed to someone else's vision, or the default vision resulting from a lack of looking forward).

I also enjoyed the discussion of scripting, or paradigm shifting. We all have scripts that have been handed to us from others or from ourselves (expectations, etc). To rescript is to change the framework from which we view ourselves and the world around us. This relates very much to me to the following scripture:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what [is] that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:1-2)

I love this verse because it tells us that as we present ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord, we must not allow ourselves to be conformed to this world, but transformed. We are transformed (paradigm shifted) through the renewing of our mind. As we study and meditate on new ways of considering events and interactions, we are equipped to see things differently, we begin to have our mind renewed.

This is specifically applied to the scripture in context, however it seems very applicable to the discussion of re-scripting through imagination and conscience (pg 103). Of course, if we are believers in Christ, our conscience has been replaced by a new "creature" in Christ. We now are alive to the truth of God and we can see what the Spirit reveals. Even apart from Christ, we have a human conscience that is part of our entire self, created in the image of God (body, soul/mind, spirit). Because we can see potential for new things, we are enabled to be rescripted according to the Word of God and the leading of the Spirit.