Ending well

Life is full of endings and beginnings. What many of us do not realize is that every ending can lead the way to a new beginning, something that is even better than the previous situation if we only spend some time in reflection. Let’s spend some more time talking about this.

As I prepare for lap 66 and the ending of lap 65 in my life I can think of multiple endings and beginnings I have been through. Not every ending was complete, but many were. I can also say that my beginnings appear to have gotten better as I have gotten older/more experienced because I learned from each of the endings that preceded these beginnings.

This whole train of thought has come to pass after having read the book “Necessary Endings” by Henry Cloud. I have enjoyed this book so much that I plan to read more of his books soon. Another book I read years ago was by William Bridges on a similar topic.

An exercise that I plan to undertake is to reflect on the last 40+ years in my career and list the following:

-Ending title
-Nature of what led to the ending
-Key learning from the ending
-New beginning that came forth
-Advantage gained from this new beginning

Come back in the coming weeks to see more about what I have learned from 40 plus years of successes, failures, frustrations, laughter and life. Not everything I will talk about will be business, but all of it will be important, at least to me.

What about you? What new beginnings have sprung forth for you from your endings?

What endings have you handled well and which endings have been left dangling?

If you are a Vistage member in one of my groups you need to be prepared to discuss this. It is forthcoming in our May meetings.