Connecting the Dots
“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”
~ Steve Jobs
When we were much younger, there was this piece of assignment that was always fun to do for me, I loved connecting dots. To me the beautiful image that came out after I was done amused me. It gave me sense of fulfilment, a kind of gratification to see what I have laboured for come out so beautiful. However, in connecting these dots, some I have to start from the rear, some times from the middle and couple of occasions the connections would look so disjointed but in the end I always seem to come out with something beautiful.
Our lives are similar to this, in raw form before the dots are fully connected it seems uninteresting and meaningless but once we are done connecting the beauty comes out and we have that sense of fulfilment. Life may seem so meaningless now, it may seem frustrating and you just want to give up but my dear friend you just need to connect the dots. The truth is, what you are going through now is part of the dots. Whatever you may have passed through were not just coincidence, they were planted in your way to lead you to where you are today, you earned them and you have every right to put them to use.
Discovering synergistic opportunities in any area of our lives — health, career, relationships, finance and more — begins with asking ourselves questions, observing our past and current experience, and looking for patterns. You might start with questions like these:
What have been the most influential experiences of your life?
What are your natural skills, talents and fascinations ?
What educational or professional backgrounds can you draw on?
What instincts or inclinations have you followed, and which have paid off for you in the past?
What unique or unusual life experiences have you had, and what have you taken away from them?
What personal relationships, professional connections and social networks are you a part of, and which do you most enjoy?
In what environments do you feel most alive, energized or at ease?
What knowledge and perspectives can your draw on from your family heritage and cultural background?
What moments of your current life bring you the most satisfaction?
What qualifies as “fun” for you, even if it feels like “work” to others?
As you begin to look at these and other factors, you’ll begin to see a series of “dots” that define who you are, and how you are naturally wired up. You’ll see ways some dots already connect, and you’ll probably also begin to see opportunities to leverage and connect more of them more powerfully.
Bahram Akradi 2012
Connecting the dots has nothing to do with how good you are or how careful you are. It mostly depends on how you flow with the tools (skills, knowledge, past experiences etc.) you have and how you are able to interpret what you have been given (opportunities, environment, people etc.). The most successful people are not necessarily the smartest people, they are just people who were able to connect the dots. And like you they had difficulties starting but with time and perseverance, they were able to put everything together.
You have everything you need to succeed but some how you will have to dig deep and then you will have to understand how to put them together. It is all connected; your gift, your circumstance, your purpose, your imperfections, your journey, your destiny, all connected to moulding you to becoming something great, embrace it!
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