We spend most of our lives buying things to have. We can do whatever we want with them. Some make us proud like a house. We work hard to maintain them. Others we abandon like an old phone. Still others we use until they break like an old washing machine. Things sometimes make us feel good like when we buy a new car. Open your closet or your “junk” drawer. Look in your garage or basement.
Once upon a time, all of those things were exciting to buy. Some were “must haves” on your shopping list. Ownership is great. Or is it? (You can do whatever you want when you own something.)
It’s amazing how owning something can be so transient. We don’t care as much over time for most things we own. Yet we keep them. Why is that? (My wife reminds me of my “junk” that I continue to keep but have never looked at in a number of years.)
Outcomes are much different. Outcomes are not goals (that are in the future). Outcomes are the finished product (here today). The stuff that makes up the work towards an outcome is transient. The work disappears when we reach an outcome. Only the outcome remains.
Outcomes are more important in our lives when they are defined by our choices. They will be safer and more helpful. Outcomes are the end result (what we have to show) for how we spent our day and our lives. Defining outcomes are more effective than stating goals.
Sadly, many times the outcomes in our lives are accidental. We didn’t think or plan for them. They just happen. Sometimes they’re hurtful or drag us down. Then mistakenly we begin to believe that this is the way my life was destined to be.
When we focus on outcomes look what changes. We can’t do what we want. We have to do what will work to make the outcome real. Outcomes force us think how best to achieve them. We become more committed to them when we first stop and think if they are worth chasing, developing, or achieving.
Outcomes demand discipline and our presence. Outcomes require patience and planning. You just can’t reach an outcome overnight. Life doesn’t work this way. They require that you live your life with more intention, direction, and mindfullness.
Focus on outcomes not owning things,
to see the world change right before your own eyes.