You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.
- Steve Jobs
When I first heard the quote from the founder of Apple, it made me even more confused about my own timeline and goals. I’m supposed to just rely on some blind faith and hope that one day things would finally make sense?
Whether you’re religious or not, we all have limited time on this Earth. I thought this means we should probably make our decisions based on more solid proof than just the vaguely defined “something” that Jobs says we should trust in. It almost sounded like:
“I don’t know your life story. But don’t worry bro, everything’s gonna work out, just truuust”.
In hindsight, the 13 year old me might’ve misinterpreted Job’s words. Fast forward to today, I see the importance of connecting past dots, but also believe that one can (and should) connect dots while looking into the future.
In this article, I’ll share my latest interpretation of the “something” that one should trust in when facing the uncertain future. You will also get a better understanding of the posts you might see on my blog.
Looking In the Other Direction
I’m sure by this point there’s tons of articles out there telling you how you might connect the dots looking backwards, because Jobs said this back in 2005 at the Stanford Commencement Ceremony. However, after reflecting on how the past dots shape our life story, we should also focus on forecasting what we want to happen in the future—essentially, looking in the other direction.
Here’s an example
Let’s say you’d like to be a manager of a small team when they asked you one of the classic interview questions: “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”
With your end “dot” defined, you could now project 5 other intermediary dots that can bridge you to that end goal. You could even form those forecasts by looking at your past dots, so the thought process may look like:
Intermediary Dot #1: “I was the president of my student org, I can apply the same leadership to help direct X project.”
Intermediary Dot #2: “I aced my exam in a challenging college course. I will use similar learning strategies to learn X new skill at work to take on Y responsibilities.”
Intermediary Dot #3: “John from X team is a great leader, I will seek mentorship from him.”
Intermediary Dot #4: …
Intermediary Dot #5: …
End Dot: Become the manager of the small team by the end of 5 years.
Steve Job’s Implications
I believe this is what Jobs meant by “trusting your gut”. By continuously building up and analyzing your own track record, you start to have a feel for both the likelihood and timeline of reaching a specific end dot.
Steve is right in the sense that we cannot know what dots will be plotted in our life with 100% accuracy, so there will always be some errors in our forecasts. The lines we use to connect the dots may be more appropriately drawn as dotted lines given the uncertainty.
Either way, when your forecast doesn’t meet the actual reality, that’s really just more data that would improve your projecting accuracy next time. Overtime, the errors between our forecast and reality will lessen, if we are receptive to the feedback.
In essence, our proactivity in making forecasts now, using past data, can have a strong correlation with our future forecasting accuracy.
Maybe I’m Wrong
There’s a chance that there’s a more effective mindset or framework for goal pursuits out there. Maybe I’m not quite making sense here, and maybe this interpretation of Jobs is just as ridiculous as the one I made when I was 13.
But this is part of what this blog is about. I get a chance to challenge and test my own theories about the world through my publishing, and hopefully inspire you to do the same in the process. I’m not afraid to fail, and neither should you.
My value add as an author is to share what’s worked and what hasn’t for me, and you get to exercise your critical thinking skills to consider how those insights may help you craft the life you want to live.
Of course, I would never turn down any suggestions/comments from you. For now, you can do that through this Google Form with 2 questions.
The one last thing you should do
If everything you’ve read so far resonates with you, I challenge you to take out a piece of paper and a writing utensil of your choice (digital counterparts are acceptable as well, thanks for asking).
Take a few minutes to remind yourself how you’ve connected your dots looking backwards, but don’t stop there.
With some confidence, excitement, and optimism, plot a few dots for the future and see how you might connect them.