Seeing the bigger picture

In our lives, which are very individualistic and where we always seek to do what is best for ourselves and our families, it's often very hard to see “the bigger picture”. There are some roles or positions you occupy, which will give you a glimpse of this. Think about the position of president or leader, in such positions, you can’t just do what is good for you or your family, you must consider everybody and what decision would be best for all.

Simply put, this is what I mean by “the bigger picture”, looking out not just for yourself, family or closest acquaintances but looking out for people you don’t even know and who don’t even know you both in the present and in the future.

You might think maybe because you aren’t in such positions it doesn’t concern you but you’d be wrong to think that. Basically, every technology which has survived past 10 years (arbitrary value) only did so because the creators looked at the bigger picture (The reason I say this is because the creators of said technology could have focused on maximizing the short-term profitability but instead chose to maximize the long-term gain.)

Thinking about the future

In your position now, you can still consider the bigger picture, looking at how your decisions and choices can impact not just you but all your neighborhood, children, children’s children, tribe, country and even the whole planet in general. I am not speaking here about changing the world or doing something amazing; what I am talking about is making decisions which might not be in your best interest in the present but would certainly be profitable for you or others in the future. A good example of this are all those people who keep working night and day to ensure that their children have a brighter future than they did, those who keep working to push this country forward, those unknown names who sacrifice their life energy for the good of others.

It is very easy to be focused on our interests, to only do the things which favor us and nobody else; after all, we have no shortage of problems to worry about so why would we spend the extra energy worrying about people we barely even know. However, there is a lot of value in looking at the bigger picture and taking actions which might actually put us in a much more difficult position right now but lead to a better future for everybody and even those to come after us.

What I mean by that

I know it might sound like something you are already doing; I’m sure you are already working very hard to provide for your family and doing everything you can to make your lives better. The question here is: what is your legacy and how does it fit into a greater vision everybody can align into?

Whatever it is you are doing, will it survive after you or go with you? How future proof is it?

You have an amazing job; you are doing amazing things but when you think about it, a lot of the things you are doing are not going to last past you. Even those with the highest chance of survival, like real estate or possessions, might just end tied up in sibling conflicts. The bigger picture here isn’t just about material things you can accumulate but rather a long-lasting vision which transcends time, persons and ages—something not just your children will continue but your children’s children will continue long after you are gone.

Examples of Bigger pictures

A good example are family businesses, these were started by parents who had a vision and worked hard to create a legacy for not just their future generations but imprint their names onto history; walmart, ford, Marriott, Dangote and many others which may not bear the family names. These parents had a vision for the future, saw the “Bigger picture,” and focused on working on that.

You have other things like building a strong community bond, which is productive in a certain way and everyone born into that community follows along those lines. Other things include building a school which will train future generations.

You get the picture—a vision which transcends time.

Conclusion

Its possible that you are solely focused on making your life better and possibly that of the next generation with little concern about everybody else outside of your circle of interest. This isn’t a bad thing but is ironically the same mentality, which explains why you are in that same position, You might have been in a better position if those who came before you had worked hard on the bigger picture, Maybe this is your chance of breaking the cycle and building something which will outlast you.

Thanks for reading ☺️