Why Your Past Holds the Key to a Clearer Vision for Your Future"

You've probably heard Steven Cubby's famous advice to begin with the end in mind. But honestly, I disagree. And

mind. But honestly, I disagree. And

here's why. Whenever I ask a group of people, what is the first thing that comes to their mind when they hear the word vision, someone always says pew.

So, it makes total sense that most people think the visioning process starts with thinking about their future.

And most visioning workbooks and exercises follow that exact same approach. They give you a few blank

approach. They give you a few blank lines, tell you to write about your perfect life in 3 to 5 years, and leave it at that. But here's the problem with jumping straight to the future. First,

staring at a blank page with a prompt to suddenly articulate your long-term vision is completely overwhelming.

Second, when you leap right to the end, it's often not what you actually have in mind. Instead, it's easy to end up with

mind. Instead, it's easy to end up with surface level goals and vague aspirations instead of a deep understanding of what you truly want your life to look and feel like. And

third, like we've talked about before, a vision is your definition of success and a specific point in the future. And a

range of 3 to 5 years is definitely not specific. So, if beginning with the end

specific. So, if beginning with the end in mind doesn't work, then where are you supposed to start? Here is the approach that I always use with my clients.

Before you even begin to think about your future, you have got to understand your past. Because in the process of

your past. Because in the process of exploring how you got to where you are, you uncover your patterns and their impact. And as you connect those dots,

impact. And as you connect those dots, you start having these realizations. So,

for instance, I had this client who told me, "You know what? I I never realized it, but while I have brought two amazing kids into this world, paid off all my debt, and really focused on my health

over these past several years, the only thing I've used to define my self-worth over these past several years have been workrelated.

Another client said that he had always felt like he should be more productive, but wound up procrastinating instead. He

never realized that he was resisting it because productivity was such a loaded term growing up in his family. And

another client shares with me that she had always wanted a close relationship with her sister. But looking back, she realized her sister just was never able

to connect like that. So, as a result, this client said it was actually relieving to stop wishing that relationship would be completely different and be able to just embrace it

for what it was. Without this crucial step of understanding their past, these clients would have began with an end in mind that was centered around 10xed career goals or next level productivity

or this Instagrammable sibling relationship. and they would have ended

relationship. and they would have ended up wasting tons of time and tons of energy striving for things that did match their longheld surface level

goals, but actually got them farther away from where they really wanted to go. And that is why I've always always

go. And that is why I've always always guide my clients to begin with their past in mind. When you do that, you're able to dive beneath the surface and

really peel back those layers, and you end up with a vision that gets to the heart of what you truly truly want to create in this next phase of your life

and the tools to navigate the challenges along the way. So, if you've been trying to envision your future, but it still feels fuzzy or kind of forced, just remember you might just be starting from

the wrong place. Next week, I'm going to walk you through what comes after understanding your past and how taking stock of where you are now sets you up

for real clarity. And if you're ready for support and structure and a proven process to clarify your vision step by step, I'm going to be opening spots for

my January visionary cohort soon, which I'm super excited about. But for now, just ask yourself, are there any surface level goals you've been carrying around

that might deserve a deeper