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Writer's pictureAndrew O'Loughlin

The Power of Endings

We just came back from a great holiday, but all we talked about was the horrendous journey home. Why did we tell everyone about this?


And why am I sharing this??


Because it's a prime example of the power of endings. In life and in our work, how we wrap things up can make all the difference.



๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฌ ๐˜ข๐˜ฃ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ต โ€“ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฅ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ถ๐˜ค๐˜ฌ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ?


Some experiences can be wonderful, but if they end poorly, thatโ€™s often what we recall (and talk about) the most.


Whether it's a workout, a sporting event, or a project at work, the way it concludes leaves a lasting impression.


๐—•๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐˜‚๐˜€๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ฎ๐˜€๐˜๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€


Our brains have a funny way of prioritizing endings, often overshadowing everything that came before. It's partly due to what psychologists call the 'peak-end rule', where people judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak and its end, rather than based on the total sum or average of every moment of the experience.


๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ โ€˜๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒโ€™, ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐˜€ '๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด'


Another trick with our brains is what Danny Kahneman called an โ€˜experiencing selfโ€™, and a โ€˜remembering selfโ€™โ€ฆ the experiencing self is that part of us that lives in the moment, and the remembering self is the part of us that looks back and reflects on what we have experienced.


๐˜–๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜จ๐˜ฉ๐˜ต ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜จ๐˜ถ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ด๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ง ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต, ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ตโ€™๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฑ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฑ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜บ, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ญ๐˜ญ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜บ ๐˜ข๐˜ง๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฅ๐˜ด, ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ช๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜น๐˜ต ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ.


So in any case when you're designing experiences โ€“ whether it's an event, a session, or a program โ€“ don't overlook the ending.


End on a high note, and watch how it impacts the perception, recall and reputation of what you provide.


The good news is that even if the experience hasnโ€™t been great if you set up a good endingโ€ฆ that can be a good result.


Like when we went to a tournament on our trip, the organisation was pretty average throughout the day, but it all ended with a great result, which had us walking away with positive reflections on the overall experience.


๐—ฃ๐—น๐˜‚๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ณ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ต ๐—ฑ๐—ผ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ!


We should always put a next step in front of people, especially if you know the end may not be a good one. That final result is not in our control in sport, so perhaps you can create an alternate ending โ€“ ideally a personalised follow-up - but there are many final moments you can create that will leave your people feeling good.


I think itโ€™s worth spending some time on the endings, and remembering how we remember because, in the grand scheme of things, it's not just about how you start, or the journey, but how you finish.


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