An authentic destination is a goal, dream or vision that is consistent to and represents your core values and the very essence of your being.
A simple exercise that can help you identify and clarify your authentic destination is what I call ‘The Funeral Test’.
A word of caution, don’t get caught up in the funeral setting of this exercise, it is simply an exercise to discover what matters to you and values that are core to your being, it doesn’t mean that you are planning to die.
It is a Friday afternoon, around 2pm; it is normally the time you start winding down from the demands of your week day commitments and looking forward to your anticipated weekend, but today is different. You are driving to an appointment. You got to the next traffic light, the light was red and you stopped, it changed to amber, then green and you continued.
You proceeded through the next set of
traffic lights and shortly afterwards, turned right into a church yard. You parked your car, and quickly made your
way to the entrance of the church hall because the service is about to start.
You entered; the organ in the hall was
playing a solemn tune. There is a casket
right at the other end of the hall – you are at a loved one’s funeral. You could see familiar faces of some friends and
relatives. You wanted to sit right at
the back because you came late but something inside you nudged you to go
further to the front.
Eventually you moved closer to the casket and it happened to have a ‘two-tiered’ cover, the top half is opened and you could see the face of the person in it – it is you. You are quite shocked and couldn’t believe what was happening until you looked at the program booklet in your hand, it has your picture in front of it and your name – it is your funeral, 3 years from this date.
As you take a seat, the vicar starts the service by welcoming everyone and ran through the order of service, which included tributes about you from:
Now think deeply. What would you like each of these speakers to say about you and your life? What character would you like them to have seen in you? What contributions, what achievements would you want them to remember? Look carefully at the people around you – your parents, siblings, spouse, in-laws, nieces, nephews. What difference would you like to have made in their lives? Write the answer to these questions and keep it safely; we will refer to it later.
Tips for making the most of your funeral test
The way forward
What to do
with your funeral test
God (faith)
Self
Family
Ministry / Service
Finances
Work
Think about your life as a house with 6 rooms - This leads to order. Look at your typical week. And use the context of rock time and fluid time
There must be
a place for everything and everything must be in a place.
Read more
about - The Law of Order