Is a life a project?

An elderly and beloved family member scared us over the weekend. We thought we were going to lose her. Fortunately, she is a fighter and now seems to be recovering well.

However, PMThinkers, it occurred to me…is a life a project? By definition, a project is temporary and unique. So is a life. Even if you believe in lives beyond this one, I think you will agree that this life, in this time, born into these circumstances (e.g., parents, birth order, etc.), meets the definition of temporary and unique.

In projects, though, at the outset we determine the purpose, the problem we are attempting to solve and/or the opportunity we need to exploit, as well as the corresponding goals and objectives, constraints, assumptions, etc. In life, some of this is determined for us (e.g., the socio-economic class into which we are born is a constraint, at least at first). Even before we are born, who our parents are lead folks to assume what the baby will look like, be like, and become. Luckily for some of us, some of these assumptions are proven wrong. Again, the same holds true in projects. As assumptions are proven wrong, they can positively or negatively impact the project outcome.

I suppose some people do have predetermined goals, like projects should. Take royalty for instance. A baby is born a prince and so it is expected that he will become king. Many of the rest of us are left to figure out our purpose. Personally, I am still struggling with this one. And many of us, like my family member, look back nearing the end of their lives and reflect on the best of times and how life progressed, without objectives. So it is with projects that have not been run tightly. One looks back at the end and says, “well, we accomplished a lot so we were successful”. However, one did not accomplish what one set out to achieve since one set out to achieve nothing in particular. This is a fine way to live, I suppose. This is not a fine way to run projects.

If a way to frame my life is in project format, I better go do some more thinking. I have done these exercises before, but it is time to revisit them. Since I wasn't born a princess, when I am closer to the end of my life than to the beginning, what times do I want to remember with a toothless smile?