Are We There Yet?

When I traveled with my children when they were under the age of four, during our trip they would always soon break into a familiar refrain, “are we there yet”? Young children, it seems, have universally discovered a way to express their concerns when traveling by continually asking this question. While each of us as a parent has tried our best to be patient when answering this question, a child’s persistence can often wear down the very best of us. Today I want to look at this question from a very different point of view.

The very question “are we there yet?” speaks to a need within each of us to have a clear sense of where we are going. When a child that has been told we are taking a trip to see Grandmother asks this question, the root of the question is in their need to know where they are going. For young children, as yet unable to perceive elapsed time and distance, this question really speaks to their need for a clear understanding of the objectives of the trip. This brings us to today’s discussion of the “O” in V.O.I.C.E. The “O” stands for having clear and written Objectives in your life. Having clear objectives is simply another way of saying that you must have a mission or purpose in your life. Given some time to think we all could respond in some way to the question – What is your mission in life? However, what I am talking about here causes us to go deeper. Your objectives in life must be inspiring and compelling. They must establish for you a clear sense of where you are going, and more importantly, they must establish for you the why you are going there. One of the things I have learned recently about the way the brain works is that we respond when we understand “because”. Just this simple word acts as a command that compels us into action. I recently read of the work of Dr. Robert B. Cialdini, in a book written by Tony Jeary titled “Life Is a Series of Presentations”. In his book Tony Jeary writes of the work of Dr. Cialdini as relates to the psychology of influence. While we can’t expound on his work in this limited space, we can summarize by giving you this compelling statistic. In terms of influencing action, just understanding why increases the likelihood of receiving a positive response by 50%. Simply stated, having a clear sense of why results in a 50% improvement in the likelihood of success!

Going back to one our favorite authors and speakers, we once again reference the work of Dr. Stephen Covey. In his book the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Covey teaches us what he calls Habit 2, “Begin With The End in Mind”. Dr. Covey calls this the habit of personal leadership. Habit 2 is the habit that causes you to have a vision or clear objectives for your life. This sense of vision is the compelling “why” you do what you plan to do. Writing this down takes us from the realm of just thinking of what we want to clearly planning for what we want. Tomorrow we will continue to expand upon this idea and provide a few tips as to how to begin. I leave you today with this quote:

If a man knows not what harbor he seeks, any wind is the right wind. - Seneca