How Do You Use The Power of Beginnings And Ends?

I have known for a long time that the human brain has a bias for the beginnings and the ends. It is called the primacy effect and the recency effect, respectively.

This bias is the reason we are taught to start and finish our presentations, speeches, and essays strong. We stand a higher chance of creating a recall value with creative, emphatic beginnings and ends.

I am attending the coaching summit by coaching.com. During Michael Bungay Stanier's webinar, he shared how he uses this concept in his coaching and training sessions. It made me think about how to use it in my life beyond coaching. Here are some steps that I have taken –

1. Before I start a new task from my 'to-do' list*, I drink a glass of water.
2. At the end of the activity, I do gentle stretching exercises for 5 minutes.
3. I bring multiple beginnings and ends in my conversations (MBS style).

It is almost a week since I adopted these practices. I have noticed they make me more mindful. They prime me for the next steps. They help me acknowledge the things I get done during the course of the day. They remind me of why I do what I do.

The 'Coaching Summit' is the phase in which I set time aside to learn and figure out what is happening at the forefront of the coaching world. This 3 weeks journey becomes the foundation for identifying what I want to go deeper into during the rest of the year.??

How do you use the power of beginnings and ends? What helps you stay intentional towards your north star?

Do share in the comments or DM me.??

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