Articles
The Gift of Your Life
"I thought I had more time!"
These words recently were spoken to my friend by her friend who is 41, dying of cancer and leaving behind a five year old child. Ever since I heard these words they have been ringing in my ears.
Could that be true for all of us? I thought I had more time. I know I squander many of my hours - watching television when I could be reading a great book, surfing the Net when I could be spending time with my dog, playing solitaire on the computer while I'm waiting for a phone call.
Some time ago I read the wise words of an elder who said, "I live each day as if I had an eternity of days and also as if today were my last day on earth."
How do you live your days?
My mother, who died more than seven years ago, was fond of saying, "It's later than you think!"
I never much paid attention to those words at the time. I thought they were another example of my mother's looking at the world through the lens of the glass being half empty rather than half full. But as I age and the days in front of me get shorter than the days behind me, I begin to appreciate the positive side of what she was expressing.
Recently I rediscovered these haunting words from Mark Twain:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by
the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.
What are the things you'd be disappointed that you didn't accomplish twenty years from now?
It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day minutiae that we forget the big picture of our lives!
Nowhere was this stated as clearly as in an email epistle I received from a friend. The author's name of this musing was not included:
Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't
thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming
or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up
dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on,
I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, "How about going
to lunch in a half hour?" She would gasp and stammer, "I can't."
Check one: "My hair is dirty." "I wish I had known yesterday."
"I had a late breakfast." "It looks like rain." And my personal
favorite: -"It's Monday."
She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.
Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect: We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Stevie toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves get longer. One morning, we awaken and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to," "I plan on" and "Someday, when things are settled down a bit."
When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Roller blades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.
Springtime has traditionally been a time of reawakening, feeling more alive. So it seems like a fitting opportunity to swing out there with full gusto and claim the life that would be most satisfying, most fulfilling! The following exercise offers a process for doing that. My challenge to you is to take some time to try it yourself and live your life the way you want to live it!
Circle of Preferred Priorities
Consider how you would spend your life if you had more control of your time. Draw a wheel with eight spokes (like a pizza pie) to represent the top eight things you would include among your highest priorities. In each wedge, include how much time (day, hours, minutes, etc. or percentages) you would devote to this priority. When you have filled in the wheel, answer the questions below. (Note: Move the wedges, if you like, to conform to their percentage of time allotments.)
- What simple changes could you make in your life right now that would move you closer to your preferred priorities?
- What could help you move to this priority list from your current priority list?
- If this were to be your finest period of life, how satisfied would you be with the mark you would be leaving on the world based on these priorities?
- What will you say yes to in your life? No to? Starting today!
- What commitments will you make to move you closer to this set of priorities?
Choose a date in the future by which you could safely say this will become your current priority.
Full Gusto Life Bookshelf
Doing Less and Having More by Marcia Wieder
Are you tired of living by other people's standards and rules? Are you ready
for more ease, play, and joy in your life? If so, this book is for you!
Is It Too Late to Run Away and Join the Circus? by Marti Smye, Ph.D.
Chock full of great exercises for helping you decide what's really important
in your life.
Take Time for Your Life by Cheryl Richardson
This coach shows you how to switch from being stressed, unfulfilled, and overworked,
to "living a life you love" by using a seven-step process.
The Power of Flow by Charlene Belitz and Meg Lundstrom
Offers practical ways to transform your life with meaningful coincidences.
The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
This now classic book provides a 12-week program to recover your creativity.
Everyday Miracles by David Spangler
What if you could create your own luck, make "coincidences" happen,
even bring a few miracles into your daily life? You can! Here is your guidebook
for doing so.
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Copyright Melanie Keveles & Starting Fresh Coaching. Used with permission.
Melanie Keveles helps people live their dreams instead of dreaming of living. Do you have a secret dream that you yearn to make real? Discover how Melanie has helped others achieve success, change their careers, and rediscover joy. Visit her website at www.startingfreshcoaching.com