7/8 · Checkmate

Why the End? · 7/8

Checkmate

Julian van der Wouden·2 min read

You can be winning at work and quietly losing at everything that matters more.

One Board Or Eight?

Maybe your sense of purpose isn’t something grand right now.
Maybe it’s as simple and essential as restoring balance in your life.

And how hard is that to actually maintain?

Imagine your life spread across eight boards:

Health & fitness
Work & career
Money & financial stability
Romance & sex
Children & family
Friends & extended family
Personal growth
Rest & relaxation

We often perform well on one or two of those boards.
Sometimes even excel.

But what happens when we’re quietly losing on the others?

You might win on board 2 or 3…
But take major hits on board 5 or 6.

And those losses?
They shape your quality of life.

Or lack of it.

More Peace, Less Regret

Instead of excelling on one board,
what if you were simply solid on all eight?

Not perfect, but in balance.

That brings peace.
Satisfaction.

Not success in the eyes of others.
But peace in your own system.

Nothing ignites life more than death itself. There is no greater wake-up call. — Søren Kierkegaard

Wide Awake

Most people live in a constant trance.
Sleepwalking through their days.

Trapped in habits, comfort.
Addictive technology.

To wake up, you need more than a podcast or a good intention.

You need a jolt. Something that lands.
A bucket of cold water to the face.

The Last Hour Experience is that cold water.

A mirror you can’t swipe away.

Begin With the End

In the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,
habit 2 is: Begin with the end in mind.

To know how you want to live,
you must first decide how you want to die.

Who do you want to have become?
What do you want to have done?
What should people say about you?

Visualize looking back on your life.

Scrolling. Swiping. Liking.

Grabbing your phone every 30 seconds.

Probably not part of that answer.

Once you know what truly matters to you,
everything gets clearer.

You’ll have a YES so strong,
you can confidently say NO
to all the noise that doesn’t serve it.

A Life In Bloom

And if you’re not sure what your purpose is yet, that’s not a flaw.

Frankl reminds us: meaning isn’t a fixed destination.

It’s something we keep actualizing, again and again, as life unfolds.

You’ll feel it more clearly when the timing is right, and the distractions fall away.

Within Vita Florentis, we help create the space for that moment.
Not in theory. In reality.

Not someday, but now.

Not as a thought,
but as an experience.

The true meaning of that statement is this: the thought of death should not paralyze us, it should drive us forward. For when death has been decreed, all is over, and yet its uncertainty lingers over every moment of our lives. — Søren Kierkegaard

Spend one cinematic hour alone, as if it were your last. Then turn your insights into choices with the included guide.
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⁷ Kierkegaard (1845), 2011, p. 101.

⁸ Kierkegaard (1845), 2011, p. 124.