How does it connect to the bigger thing?

It is amazing to me how much this question repeatedly shows up in many areas of my life.

When I’m leading product discovery sessions with clients and trying to figure out what to build and when, I am constantly asking how it will tie back to the bigger picture business goals.

When I’m coaching founders about how to navigate a difficult decision, I invite them to consider how this decision impacts the bigger vision of what they want to accomplish.

When I’m planning the next 1 - 3 years from a personal perspective, I am evaluating how it aligns with my understanding of why I’m here on this planet.

When I look at my own life and get discouraged that things feels too disconnected, I remind myself to ponder how it is connected to something bigger than my interpretation of myself.

Zoom out. Like all the way out.

And if you can’t connect the threads to the bigger thing, it’s either not aligned or you are still missing some of the pieces of the puzzle to make the connections. The discernment between those requires practice and intuition and building that skill will provide you with the ultimate navigation system.

If something is truly not connected, we can ruthlessly and confidently move on to the next thing.