Think In 200 Year Blocks Of Time

During my early years of teaching workshops on the subject of stress management, I would often ask those gathered the following questions.

“Who remembers their grandparents?”

Nine times out of ten, everyone raised their hands in the air.

“Who remembers or knows anything about their parents?”

At this point, only a few hands would go up in the air.

This line of questioning led us into a discussion on maintaining perspective and understanding about how stress management techniques and perspectives were passed down from generation to generation.

When I reflect on this line of thinking decades later, I want to add another line of questions.

“Who here is a grandparent? How well do you know your grandchildren?”

I think the challenge is that most of us think about life in three to five year blocks of time. Some of us may even think about ten year blocks of time. This is our sense of the big picture.

But for me, I am thinking we need to embrace a larger perspective about life and history. For example, my father’s mother, who I knew as a child, was born in the late 1800’s. My father was born in the early 1920’s. I was born in the late 1950’s. Our children were born in the 1980’s. And our first grandchild was born this year. 

When I view the big picture on all these relationships, they easily will cover the span of two hundred years. My father’s mother influenced my father and myself. My wife and I influenced our children. And they will in turn influence their children. Thus, the passing down of perspective and understanding is an on-going process. 

As we come to the end of 2020 and look forward to a new year, let’s us pause and realize that we need to start thinking about life in two hundred years blocks of time. For we are being influenced by our history and we are creating history at this moment in time. We also are influencing the next generation as they will live their own lives and create their own history.  

In 2021, I hope we can pass on the best of what we have learned to date and inspire those who will move forward after we have passed away. Now is the time to instill hope, confidence, inner strength and clarity so that from this year forward people strive to be their best selves and to create a better world for all.

I look forward to seeing you and visiting with you in person in the new year!

Geery Howe, M.A. Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change Morning Star Associates 319 - 643 - 2257