You Can’t Get Where You’re Going, if You Don’t See Where You’re Going
You Can’t Get Where You’re Going, if You Don’t See Where You’re Going
The best thing you can do in the morning is plan the end of your day. Perhaps there’s something recorded on the DVR – an Academy Award movie you’ve wanted to see. Or maybe it’s a pasta dish, loaded with fresh herbs and wonderful ingredients, that you’ve planned to make. It could be that your children want you to read to them. Or you and your husband bought a slightly more expensive bottle of wine than usual that you want to crack open. Once you know what the day’s end is going to look like, get into in. Imagine the taste of the pasta sauce, all garlicky and rich with velvety tomato sauce. Or visualize the look on your children’s faces as they listen to you read. Read the synopsis of the film and remind yourself of the actors in it. NOW you’re ready for your day.
As long as you have the end in sight, the plans, meetings, work, stress, traffic, sudden unexpected calls – they’ll all be easier because you’ll already know when and how it’s all going to come to an end. And the end is good because you planned it.
Gertrude Ederle was the first woman to swim the English Channel. She was the youngest, age 21, to date in 1926, and she did it in almost 2 hours less time than any of the previous men. She had a ticker tape parade down Broadway in New York City when she returned home. The press kept attributing her accomplishment to her youth. At the age 48 she announced she would swim again on her 50th birthday. She wanted to prove that youth had nothing to do with her success. On the day of the swim, it was grey and damp and there was a low fog hanging over the Channel. She got into the water and after about 12 hours and 75% of the distance, she got out of the water and quit. When the safety boat reached the shore, a reported asked her why she gave up. She said, “The fog was so low. I couldn’t see where I was going. There seemed to be no end in sight.”
If you don’t plan where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?