Write a "Great Last Chapter" to each of life's challenges and you can "Change The Ending" for all involved

This quote really spoke to me today.  In life, nothing exists in a vacuum.  We bring our history, our past and our life experiences to each day.  It is like our life is a barge, slowly traversing down the river.  Barges are big and once they are set in motion, they take time to change direction.  Our lives are similar.  Our behaviors and our responses have this constant inertia, just like these barges.  We expect our spouse, children, friends and ourselves to change behaviors, but do we realize just how difficult and trying this process can be?

We can't go back and fix the things that have brought us here.  We can't change the beginning.  This is a truth we must respect and acknowledge.  If you continue to deal with the same challenges and have a hard time getting  different results, chances are the barge hasn't changed course.   Turning a barge is a slow and deliberate process.  It takes diligence, patience and adequate time to accomplish.

In full disclosure, I was led to write this as I struggle with my children and their issues with respect for their mother, each other and me.  I am also challenged by my occasional lack of ability to model self control when I get upset over all of this.  There are a few barges in my household that need to change course.  We need to arrive at a different ending, as this quote from C.S. Lewis suggests.

Sam Hinkie, the former GM of the Sixers said, "Discipline is the difference between what you want, what you really want, and what you really really want the most."  He encourages people to "be rigorous" and to "not scratch the itch of the nearest thing."  

Hinkie believes "the things we learn well" compound over time.  He believes Emotional intelligence (EQ) will be a key driver to future success.  He states "Intellect is the new driver of society." He implores us to be super focused on 2032 or 2042.  Plant seeds now that will bear fruit then.  His strategy is to combine "certainty and patience" to implement your plans for the future.  Sounds an awful lot like turning a barge.  He further suggests taking frequent "self accessments" and keeping then in a notebook for reference and to always get in plenty of walks as they help improve our cognitive functions.

There are many examples of people focusing on how things conclude.  In his New York Times bestseller, Setting the Table, Danny Meyer provides several examples of his personal philosophy of always writing a "great last chapter."  A patron may have a terrible experience, but Meyer and his team are always sure to make things right.  We all have the power to do our part to write good last chapters. My place of work has always operated with a similar philosophy.  Take care of the issues at hand and that is the best thing you can do to insure future success.  Now lets see if I can embrace this concept of "starting where I am and changing the ending in each moment, day, week and so on in my most important relationships with my wife and daughters.

Here is a verse that captures much of what is above in a sixteen words:
 Ecclesiastes 7:8 (NIV)  The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.