Brian Johnson presents a three-step approach to tackling life's challenges: imagine your desired end, recall past successes to build agency, then work backward from that goal to plan concrete actions. He applies it to health, work, and love.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic plus one. In our last plus one, we spent some time with me and Eleanor in a book of hidden picture puzzles and mazes. Of course, I can't go five minutes without finding an opportunity to apply some philosophical wisdom to life's precious moments. So I had fun channeling my inner Stephen Covey as I had fun solving those mazes. How? By practicing habit number two and beginning with the end in mind. More specifically, I literally started those mazes from the end and worked my way back. Is that cheating? Maybe. But as Indie Arie says in her great song Just do you, if you create the game, then you create the rules. And I will say starting at the finish is definitely a lot easier. And I think that's a really good metaphor for life and all the mazes we find ourselves in. So let's apply that wisdom to our lives a bit more today and connect it to the science of hope. Let's start by stepping back and taking a quick look at a life maze that you are currently in. What challenging maze are you currently navigating your way through? I don't have a current. Challenging maze is not an acceptable answer. We all have a maze or three we're navigating all day, every day, whether that's in our energy, our work, or our love. So pick one please, so we can use it for our quick little exercise today. You got it. Awesome. Let's get to work. Now step back from what might be the overwhelming complexity of your maze and try to see the bigger picture. More specifically, try to see the optimal resolution of that current challenge. If it's a health crisis, how can you use this challenge as a catalyst to forge antifragility and literally use it as fuel to get in the best health of your life? Perhaps you can use this challenge to finally start doing the things you know you could have been doing for years. See yourself as the most radiantly alive and healthy version of yourself you can imagine. Begin with that end in mind. Note hope Scientists tell us this is step one to have an inspiring goal. Of course, apply the same process for a work or a love maze. See the desired end and start through your maze. Then it's time for step number two. You need to know you can get through this maze. Scientists call this agency. Build your agency or sense of confidence or self efficacy by feasting on all the times you've successfully navigated prior mazes in your life. Those hero bars are always the best fuel for your current heroic maze quest. Now, once we know what our desired end state looks like. And we know we can create that desired end state. It's time for step number three. It's time to create the plan. So how will you navigate the maze? I repeat, start from the end. See yourself at the end of that maze, Then work your way back to where you are. Now, who do you need to be? Which virtues will you embody, and what specifically do you need to do? That's today's posh one. And that's Heroic Maze Navigation 101. Applying the science of hope to the Heroic Maze quests of our lives. Bonus points for applying this wisdom with a smile and with a friend. It's day one. We're all in. Let's go.
