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How much pain and suffering would we avoid in our work and creative lives if we intentionally skipped to the end? If we took our present striving and extrapolated it into some point in the future and examined how we felt, how we lived, and what we became? We aren’t pre-cogs in a science fiction film trying to prevent the future, but we are trying to find ways to be more proactive in creating a life worth living. That is why we should probably skip to the end more frequently, especially as we get older and see the end more clearly.
“Skip to the End” Creative Exercise:
- Pick a time period in the future: one year, five years, 20 years.
- What does a typical day look like in this imagined future?
- What work are you doing in this imagined future?
- How does your work fit into your life?
- Don’t worry about things like money, accolades, awards; instead, focus on the feelings. How do you feel in this imagined life?
- Now bring those feelings back into the present day. Analyze them. If they are truly what you desire, then find a way to bring them into your day, today, tomorrow, next week. You can control your feelings more than anything else in this world. So why not start today.
Show Links
- Getting Work To Work: The Series!
- Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash
