# Beginnings and Endings By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2022-11-14 Are beginnings or endings more important? As a society, we seem obsessed with beginnings. There are more guides to births and starting a business than death and closing a business. At social gatherings, people ask where are you from more than where are you going. It wasn't that long ago when people seemed very concerned about where you were going in terms of heaven or hell, but the religious line of questioning has largely passed by. Endings are talked about in quiet corners of the office, but beginnings get paraded in public with applause and admiration. This focus on the beginning occurs even during a tragic ending. Words are spoken about how we will start anew, find a window, and persevere. No one talks about the possible ending during the beginning. It's seen as morbid and defeatist. Talking about the final chapter of a person's life when they are born likely brings up these negative thoughts, feelings, and superstitions. The same thing goes for new businesses or starting a new job. There are benefits to caring more about beginnings than endings. For example, the stoic philosophy of moving forward and focusing on what's within your control versus what happened in the past is valuable. In this context, focusing on new beginnings is productive as one cannot change the past. However, with every beginning there is an end, so why not think about how that end may occur? What does a graceful exit look like, and how does it impact others? Most people do not think about these ending questions in life or business, but they might be the most critical elements in deciding how to act in solidarity with others. Does this leave a mess for your children to clean up upon your death? Does the end of a business hurt everyone you supported along the way? Endings are just as critical as beginnings. Whether we acknowledge it or not, beginnings and endings go [[together]]. When analyzing any situation, spend just as much time thinking about the ending as the beginning. By thinking about the beginning and end, you build a path that leaves behind what you value in both the short and long term. #### Related Items [[Philosophy]] [[Purpose]] [[Solidarity]] [[Analytics]] [[Business]] [[Life]]