Jordan Peterson’s Greatest Lecture

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 I’m 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 — “What’s the greatest thing you cand conceive of doing or becoming?”

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 thoughts…


Why is it important to commit to the GREATEST thing you can conceive of?

Because, if you haven’t tested your limits, you have no idea what you’re 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 what’s possible.


Here’s an example to illustrate the point:

Ella: “What is the greatest thing you could ever imagine doing/becoming?”

Person: “a doctor”

— 10 years later and this person has become a doctor —

Ella: “What is the greatest thing you could ever imagine doing/becoming?”

Person: “A doctor with a 100% surgery survival rate.”

OR

Person: “A doctor that travels to 3rd world countries”

OR

Person: “A doctor who never turns a patient away.”


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, it’s 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 — you have to institute a new standard. That’s hard. You’ll fail in the beginning, and that’s when most people give up. If you don’t give up, though, at some point you’ll realize that your habits have changed.

If you are trying to become a doctor, it’ll take many long nights, many tests, many procedures, and many lessons learned before you completely trust yourself as “a doctor.” When you trust yourself as the thing you always wanted to be, that’s when the second shift occurs.

The second shift is what happens after you become the thing you dreamed of becoming. This is your “Second Mountain.”

After you’ve chased and attained the first thing, you realize it can’t be indefinitely fulfilling. It, in itself, won’t sustain you, so ask yourself again — “What is the greatest thing I can conceive of?”

That’s when your end goal usually transforms itself into a personal mission where you can leverage your expertise.