Simple Accountability

Developing a “context” has been, for me, the first step in goal setting, choosing projects, choosing to make a change, and even in better understanding my own and other people’s behavior.  Having a context defines us and our actions.  If i know the context within which i am acting and other people are acting then i can better understand, empathize and even communicate better.

When i think about context i think about it as relationship based - this probably comes from my studies in anthropology, linguistics and archaeology where material culture and social and political structures were analyzed and given meaning by virtue of their context… their relationships to that which surrounds, and gives meaning.  Heck, this could be considered a version of semiotics.  It’s similar to the idea of describing an object in motion - you can only describe it as it relates to the position of other objects… Whatever…

What i’d like to toss up and consider is the notion of context as it relates to time… specifically, time as relates to the choices in behavior and action that i choose to take every day.

i see it that we typically make decisions from 1 of 5 contexts: historical, present, short horizon, long horizon, and eternal.

From my experiences in coaching and leading others, most of the decisions i see are born in one of the first three contexts and, of those, usually the first one, historical.

if i make choices or exhibit behavior because i’ve always done it this way, because of the expectations of others, or because of something that has happened to me in my past i am then acting out of an historical perspective.

Sometimes i make choices from a very present / right now context… eating something i know is unhealthy but tastes good or having too much to drink… or even deciding to go sledding at the last minute… are all easy examples of a present context.  And, the present context also includes today or this week or this month.  Making choices and exhibiting behaviors that are driven from an understanding of how these behaviors will impact today… this week… or this month are all within the realm of having a “present” context.

Short horizons are contexts that evaluate and understand behaviors and choices as they relate to the next year or five or ten.. and long horizons look at my choices and behaviors and the impact they have over my lifetime.

What i’m learning and working to implement more regularly is keeping an eternal context.

An eternal context takes into consideration all of these contexts and then lays them against the perspective of eternity… as an example, how may or how can my decisions and my behaviors impact my children… their children… our community… others… our planet.

To be clear, this isnt to say that anytime we do something that is good for the planet that we arent, possibly, making choices or exhibiting behaviors out of an historical context… If the underlying reason we do a thing is to get some degree of immediate recognition, acknowledgment, as a way of keeping score, making ourselves look good or as revenge… then we are acting out of an historic context.  When we take action or make decisions out of an eternal perspective we typically are not concerned with any sort of immediate gratification.

Now, it is hard not to draw the conclusion that all decisions are “eternal” in that my choices and behaviors today will have an impact… some fall-out… in the future… but the difference is the way in which we enter into these choices - are we being conscious and choosing to have that perspective or are we just acting and letting eternity take care of itself.  Whether we know it or not… whether we like it or not… we leave a legacy… we have a wake… we all have an impact both directly and indirectly in ways that we will never know and consciously choosing to consistently exhibit behaviors that have an eternal context… that take into consideration a timeline outside of my self… can subtly and not so subtly change the trajectory of my life.

Practice having a context by looking at your calendar and see where you are planning on spending your time… and then ask yourself what was the context within which you made this commitment… and finally ask how COULD you spend my time in order to make an impact in eternity…