The Analogy

Your Best Next Move: The Analogy

When your next decision determines your future happiness, start here.

The Analogy

Your Best Next Move is not about playing the game of chess.

Chess is used as an analogy of how important making your next move can be to getting what you want.

I use the game of chess as an analogy because it is a popular game in the United States and the history of chess can be traced back nearly 1,500 years. Its popularity is due to its ability to help see the big picture and consider how your actions may play out. It makes you think several moves ahead and anticipate how your move will be countered by your opponent. It helps to develop strategic thinking that can carry over into other facets of your life, enabling you to make informed decisions.

The object of chess is very clear. The whole point of the game, what you want to happen, is to capture the opponent’s King. To win at chess you need to

  1. Know how the pieces move. Each chess piece has its purpose. They can all attack, but how they do so depends on the piece.
  2. Plan several moves ahead. Playing chess develops strategic thinking.
  3. React to your opponent’s moves. There is an antagonist in this game who wants to capture your King. While you are engaged in executing your plan, you also have to defend against your opponent’s plan.

Novice chess players will make a move with any of their chess pieces and then attempt to react to the moves of their opponent. They don’t have a strategy. Accomplished chess layers study the game and know, in advance, how they will attach and counter their opponent. They have a strategy.

As in the game of chess,

  1. Your objective should be clear. What do you want?
  2. You should know who you are. What is your unique gift, or what do you have to offer?
  3. There are also antagonists keeping you from winning.

And as with chess, many people who need to make a big decision, go about it as novices. They don’t plan ahead, they don’t know what they want, and they don’t realize they have a gift that sets them apart and is the key to their happiness. The decision they make is to just react to whatever comes along.

If you are at the point where you need to make a big, life-altering decision, don’t just react to whatever comes along. You can plan ahead, you can know what you want, and you can discover your gift and the key to your happiness.

So, when your next move could determine your future happiness, it makes sense to be sure that move is your Best.