There is just so much essence wrapped within these mere six words which can be discussed in depth. It was also explicitly written and expanded as habit #2 for highly effectively people, in the book by Stephen R. Covey. When I recite these words, they bring about a whimsical charm which feel both magical and mysterious at the same time. If you are curious enough to assay, I strongly believe that these words can take you very far in life and may well be the answer that you have been looking for. It is applicable to almost every context possible, whether it concerns your daily life, relationships, business, or health aspects. The phrase works like a relevant hint to two fundamental questions you may want to ask or remind yourself more often, "What are my values?" and "What do I really want (in ways that preserve my values)?" The latter is quite important when it is, by and large, more common and easier to express what we do not want/like than it is about what we truly want/like. It does require some thinking there, doesn't it? Don't get tongue-tied!
It is highly likely that you have been regularly applying the principle in some ways, albeit unconsciously. For examples, when you plan the itinerary and pack for holidays, when you shop for groceries or clothes, when you draft your daily or weekly productivity plan, when you read the final chapter of a fiction book first (...so I heard!), when you bake that yummy chocolate cake, when you bought an online course, when you allocate a portion of your financial wealth for long-term investment, when you do architectural design, when you create a piece of artwork, when you chair the annual shareholders meeting.....and the list goes on. The contexts may vary but they all start with the outcomes and results desired and anticipated, including all the imaginable emotions involved alongside the image conjured up in your mind - a smooth-sailing, memorable holiday trip, well-planned healthy meals for the week, nice selfies wearing the new dress/shirt, one hearty delicious chocolatey bite on the soft texture of the cake, the practice of new knowledge you acquired upon finishing the online course, increased financial wealth over the 10-year horizon, the iconic majestic building that became a nation-wide pride, the artwork displayed at a famous exhibition that eventually was sold, announcement of revised organizational mission statement in accordance to the climate of the market. You get the idea. Everything is created twice, first in the mind, then in the physical reality. This phrase emphasizes on the power of the first creation, building on your imagination and conscience, without which you are merely a default creator instead of a deliberate creator of your life - hence limiting penchant and limitless potential, respectively. It starts with your intention, then your commitment to follow through, despite all possible roadblocks or challenges ahead of you. Think about all the Olympian athletes in Tokyo since 23 July, they came with one clear end goal in mind having done all preparations and given all their best performances - that is to be standing on the podium holding a medal and do their countries proud. No doubt have they visualized that in their minds and felt ever more so empowered!
I had my chance of truly experiencing the meaning of this phrase that permeated every aspect of my 1.5-year research work on Circular Economy for my post-graduate thesis during 2017-2018. If you have not heard about CE before, here's an excerpt from my essay back then to give you an umbrella view of what it is about:
"A circular economy (CE) is redesign of the future, in which industrial systems are restorative and regenerative, by intention and design with quality beyond the conventional metrics to encompass positive effects on economies, ecology and social health (WEF 2013). It replaces the ‘end-of-life’ concept with restoration, shifts towards renewable energy reliance, eliminates toxic chemicals usage, which impairs reuse and eradicates waste through the careful design of materials, products, systems and within this, business models (EMF 2012a). Treating everything in the economy as valuable resource, it aims to enable the effective flows of materials, energy, labour and information so that natural and social capital can be rebuilt. The promising goal of CE is the absolute decoupling of economic growth from natural resources dependence, rendering positive externalities such as avoided greenhouse gas emissions and landfill dumping, while creating a huge potential for innovations, employments and economic development (Zeenat et al 2015)."
In layman terms, it is all about rethinking the way of how products are designed and manufactured for extended lifetime with lesser raw materials needed, to delay their obsolescence, or business and operation processes are streamlined to allow easier reverse cycles of recycling, upcycling, refurbishment, or parts remanufacturing, as such landfill wastes are significantly reduced and more earth's resources can be salvaged from the used products. Just think about the mobile phones that you own - in the context of CE, it could be about finding alternatives to the rare metals used in the nanochips and micro-components in the phone, you leasing one instead of owning one or creating improved design as such you can get it conveniently fixed by one-part replacement than preferring a new purchase entirely. Now be honest, how many old archaic phones do you currently have lying somewhere in the dark drawer? What can you really do more with those other than your attachment to its emotional value? One of their vendors' Sustainability Program Manager whom I interviewed back then told me that, the approximated 10% of equipment they managed to collect back from consumers, was already an equivalent of 10 football fields worth of hardware! So were these equipment designed with the end (our beautiful earth and generational well-being) in mind? The answer is NO! My recent frustrations have to do with the three different chargers for my different generations of Apple devices, and the termination of software updates (and thus its compatible apps) for the older but still functioning well device, rendering it close to useless and less appealing. Their "begin with the end in mind" principle clearly took off on the economic gains through innovations, than wider systemic, environmental resilience trajectory.
This research has given me the privilege to and peek into the complex supply chain network of a European telecommunications company involving various original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), third-party logistics service providers, retailers and product vendors. There is only one end goal to all of this - for the company (with which my research contract was based) to achieving close to 100% circular operations by 2025, a bold ambition with formed alliances already released to the press and announced to the public. At that point, the company obviously knew what was at stake and how they needed to mobilize relevant parties involved to gear up effort, collaborate and make it happen. Within the limited timeframe, my research which contributed some clarity to the intricacies of communications and information sharing in the supply chain network, and proposed manners of restructuring was a tough job overall, yet rewarding as a critical piece underpinning the becoming of their circular business model. The scope of my research culminated to the final binding thesis was my 'end' to begin with.
So what is the point of sharing this with you? First, it suggests that this principle 'begin with the end in mind' literally works on every scale of event contexts you may wish to envision. From individual to humanity goals and from simple to complex settings. The suggestion here is in fact to keep this principle handy and accessible at all times, and ask frequently, "What do I really want (in ways that preserve my values)?" Secondly, there is no prejudice towards what is considered as "good" or "bad". Your mind will help facilitate in turning anything you can wildly imagine into its physical equivalence, in its own divine timing. In other words, your mind gets whatever you feed it with. Therefore, stand guard at the door of your mind, choose wisely your dreams and dream big, as sky is the limit. Be more specific and embellish the vision with as much details as possible. It will not be good enough just to visualize it, you must whole-heartedly believe it, feel it and taste it as though it has already happened. Thirdly, visualizing the outcome is one thing, it does not take away the need to follow through on the process with least resistance, joy, patience, faith and excitement of all that is to come. Whatever you desire to manifest in your life, take charge of its blueprint design (it is only as good as you imagine it to be), your first creation if you will, and flow with the process that follows. All manifestations begin with the end in mind. Have fun with it, and let's get busy!
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