As a facilitator for the Rising Leadership Forum of SIM, I have had the opportunity to dive into deep meaningful and very thoughtful discussions about life, leadership, and legacy.
During one meetup I decided to really challenge myself with one of the tools we use and discuss in the forum. After I spent time on it, I went home and asked my wife to also participate in the exercise. The gross result drove us to change our lives. From here, we have made some important and truly impactful life decisions.
I have modified this tool from the original and I believe it is useful and practical. Please take a look at and take some time to work through it. See what you think! See what you discover!
Take a Step! “Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.” – Lewis Carroll
Life is a canvas, and we are the artists, holding the brush to paint our own masterpiece. This exercise is designed to help us understand that our time to create this masterpiece is limited. It provides a structure to ensure we are actively participating in the creation of our life’s masterpiece.
This exercise aims to help us focus on achieving life events that are important and within our control. It also guides us in managing expected events beyond our control, based on our values and principles.
Section One: Reflecting on the Past
- Draw a horizontal line approximately ½” from the bottom of an 8 ½” X 11” piece of paper. This line represents the age at your earliest memory. Write that age on the left-hand corner of the line.
- Draw a vertical line down the middle of your paper that intersects your Earliest Memory Line.
- Draw another horizontal line approximately halfway up the paper. Write today’s date on the right-hand corner of that line. Optionally, you may also write your current age.
- On the right side of the horizontal line, note the significant events or times in your life that brought joy, led to major accomplishments, or had a positive impact on you.
- On the left side of the vertical line, note the events, experiences, or happenings that were challenging, hurtful, or disappointing.
Capture the life events that you consider milestones in your personal journey.
These are the experiences that have shaped who you are today.
“I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.“ – Lewis Carroll
Section Two: Looking to the Future
- Draw another horizontal line from the top of the page. On the left-hand side of the line, write the age at which you expect to pass away. This is not intended to be morbid but to help us focus on an endpoint. If you’re uncomfortable with this, consider using the age of a parent, your longest-lived relative, or the average lifespan for your gender.
- On the left side of your vertical line, list the experiences and events that you are likely to experience and will be difficult to go through. It’s important to list likely events (e.g., the death of a parent) and not fears or imagined happenings (e.g., plane crash on the way to Europe).
- Continuing upwards from today’s date, on the right side of your vertical line, list the major milestones in your life that you wish to accomplish or experience. Some may be your choice and timing (e.g., travel to ancestors’ village in Europe), or some may be dependent on the choices that others make (e.g., birth of grandchildren).
The main emphasis of this exercise is on the right-hand side of our vertical line. This allows us to recall and honor our past achievements and anticipate the upper right area, which we’ll refer to as “Future Life Goals.”
However, it’s important to remember that we are a product of all our experiences. The events on the left have also molded us. The upper left section serves as a reminder that we may still encounter some challenges and pains in the future.
Reflection Questions:
- What lessons did you learn from reflecting on and writing the milestones of your life prior to today?
- What resources or strategies do you need to handle the items you have written in the upper left, based on your values?
- Were you able to quickly and clearly write down the items in the upper right of the page?
- Did you share these with someone else?
- Are they based on your values and principles?
- If you shared them with someone else, are they based on the shared values you have with that person?
- What adjustments do you need to make, or resources do you need to gather?
- What actions are you taking now in your life to make these things happen?
Attribution: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-ryan-2a936b2/ I believe Kevin created the original tool. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kisharp/ Kimberly created a newer version with the image above.
I modified it a bit for this post but generally speaking very close to what it was and I also believe it was derived from a book called “Orbiting the Giant Hairball”
Conclusion:
This life is yours. Take your next best action to do what you want to do now!
Why NOT!?
Let’s Go~!