March 25, 2022
The Hardest Question You HAVE to Answer
One of the most influential people in my life has been Jordan Peterson and I know Iâm not alone in saying that.
In my opinion, his best lecture is his Sermon on the Mount lecture in which he talks about purpose.
His thesis is that the best thing to do is to set your sights on the thing that seems impossible to you.
Instead of adhering to the norm of doing what seems achievable, you should commit to the thing that seems almost unachievable.
The prompt â âWhatâs the greatest thing you cand conceive of doing or becoming?â
And then commit to that.
Initially, I loved the thought exercise, and as I delved deeper, the dream captivated me enough that I decided to commit.
It has been a year since I initially heard the lecture, and I have some thoughtsâŚ
Why is it important to commit to the GREATEST thing you can conceive of?
Because, if you havenât tested your limits, you have no idea what youâre capable of.
Your first answer is based on your perceived limits. It reflects your current abilities, skills, connections, experience, and perceptions of self which are almost always only a fraction of whatâs possible.
Hereâs an example to illustrate the point:
Ella: âWhat is the greatest thing you could ever imagine doing/becoming?â
Person: âa doctorâ
â 10 years later and this person has become a doctor â
Ella: âWhat is the greatest thing you could ever imagine doing/becoming?â
Person: âA doctor with a 100% surgery survival rate.â
OR
Person: âA doctor that travels to 3rd world countriesâ
OR
Person: âA doctor who never turns a patient away.â
There are two primary shifts that occur between committing to the thing and becoming the thing.
The first shift is a shift in identity.
In the beginning, itâs hard to even fathom becoming the thing. You know yourself as something and someone. You know that you usually make certain decisions, and you trust yourself to repeat those patterns. When you commit to a different path, you have to establish a new merit of trust â you have to institute a new standard. Thatâs hard. Youâll fail in the beginning, and thatâs when most people give up. If you donât give up, though, at some point youâll realize that your habits have changed.
If you are trying to become a doctor, itâll take many long nights, many tests, many procedures, and many lessons learned before you completely trust yourself as âa doctor.â When you trust yourself as the thing you always wanted to be, thatâs when the second shift occurs.
The second shift is what happens after you become the thing you dreamed of becoming. This is your âSecond Mountain.â
After youâve chased and attained the first thing, you realize it canât be indefinitely fulfilling. It, in itself, wonât sustain you, so ask yourself again â âWhat is the greatest thing I can conceive of?â
Thatâs when your end goal usually transforms itself into a personal mission where you can leverage your expertise.