Are You Focused On What Matters Most?

Last week the participants in Spark! (my 5 month group coaching program) engaged in an inquiry around their own mortality and what truly matters to them.

I’ll share the exercise with you here so you can do it yourself. The intention of this exercise is to drill down to what matters most and to begin examining your life to see if it actually matches up with what you care about. If not, where can adjustments be made to true up?

Keeping that intention in mind, here’s the exercise:

1. Find a comfy place to sit and journal for about 30 minutes.

2. Complete the following prompts. Allow whatever shows up to show up without judging it.

   • If I only had a year to live …

   • If I only had a month to live …

   • If I only had a week to live …

3. Reflect back on what you wrote and consider the following:

   • What, if anything, changed as the timeline changed?

   • Is there anything surprising about what you wrote?

   • What is your overall takeaway from this exercise?

4. Record a Vlog (video blog) to share what you discovered and send it to me (feel free to send me yours!)

5. Identify ONE action you can take in the next week that is inspired by what you discovered in the exercise.

First of all, let me just tell you that every single one of these vlogs had me in tears. There is something so tender and sweet about getting to the very heart of what matters. The sincerity and presence in their speaking was palpable and I was so inspired.

When these powerful women confronted the brevity of their lives and centered on what mattered a few major themes were expressed …

Create memorable experiences with the people I love the most.

Thank the people that have had a positive influence on my life.

Care less about what other people think and express myself more freely.

Tend to my business, complete what needs to be completed and have my affairs in order.

Relish in the senses of this life - savor delicious food, feel my lovers skin on my skin, snuggle my dog.

Leave something meaningful behind (for my children, family, the community)

Fairly simple, isn’t it?

I know from my own experience how easy it can be to get caught up in the day-to-day happenings of life and running a business that I lose sight of what matters most.

I’ve taken the people around me for granted at times.

I’ve convinced myself that I can have that conversation some other day.

I’ve gone through the motions on autopilot and forgotten how freaking precious and fleeting my life actually is.

This is the case for many of us until something happens to shake us awake. Someone you love gets really sick or dies, you lose something you care deeply about, your own body fails you in some major way. And in those moments, all the bullsh*t you normally fret about naturally fades away and you’re left with the only things that really matter.

In the past few days I can’t help but wonder how our lives could be enriched by simply keeping what matters most in the forefront rather than letting it recede into the background.

We don’t have to wait for a moment of crisis to refocus our attention. We can make a conscious effort to live in a way that honors the brevity and preciousness of this life we are living now.

What really matters to you?

Are you giving it the attention it deserves?

If not, what can you do TODAY to change that?

May you have the courage to live in alignment with what matters most to you.