This is the title of a chapter in Jon Kabot-Zinn’s book Wherever You Go There You Are. In it, he tells the story of Buckminster Fuller who was going to take his life but instead decided to live as if he had taken his life, thereby freeing himself from worrying about how things worked out for him personally.

My favorite part of the Buckminster Fuller story is that, according to Kabot-Zinn, he started to ask himself, “What is it on this planet that needs doing that I know something about, that probably won’t happen unless I take responsibility for it?”

I’ve started to use this question in the 5 or 10 minutes of meditation I manage to sneak in before I start my day. At the end of sitting quietly, I bow and ask myself: “How can I give and how can I serve all those I come into contact with today?” (A question inspired by Deepak Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.) And then, “What is my job on this planet with a Capital J? What needs doing that I know something about, that probably won’t get done unless I take responsibility for it?”

I’m not quite sure of the answers yet but I feel certain that asking the question on a daily basis is the first step.