If you knew, what would you do?

Imagine that you were given the knowledge of exactly when someone that you know is going to die.

Also, imagine that somehow if you told them about it, it would mean that you would instantly fall over dead.

(tough criteria, I know, but bear with me…)

Now, image having lots of conversations with that person – let’s say that they are telling you all of their plans for some great new online application that they are making, or perhaps they are telling you all about this new house they are going to have built.

Given what you know about them, would you listen with intent and encouragement? Would you show compassion to them knowing that whatever their dreams or plans are would never be complete?

What would you do?

Ok, assuming that most of you said that yes, you would be as compassionate as possible and show them support, etc. the real question here is this – Since none of us really know exactly when that moment is going to come, why don’t we show the same level of compassion for each and everyone that we interact with?

Why would the value of their life seem greater if we knew exactly when it was going to end?

What were you thinking about when you were reading this post?

Please chime in with the comments – if you’d like to comment on Twitter, that’s fine, but please also do so here so that the conversation will have some sort of longevity.

The Breakfast List

My inspiration for this post comes from a few places. I recently watched the movie "The Bucket List", so if you haven't seen it yet, the storyline is simple. Two men, both with terminal cancer and given a short time to live, make a list of things that they'd like to do before they "kick the bucket".

Another reason for this post is that I stumbled across a list that my wife had made, just a few things on it. Some things that she jotted down. Areas of her life that she would like to make improvements.

So, I wrote my own list, but it wasn't a list of things "to do" it was more like a list of things that "I am.

My thinking is that if I can be honest with myself about my current situation, then if there is anything on that list which I do not like, I'll know where to start to make a change. 

Like many lists that I have created in the past, I've decided that I should read this one everyday, perhaps in the morning, while I am having breakfast. Hence the name, "The Breakfast List".

Now, I'd ask you to go make your own list. You don't need to post it online as I have done, but I think that you should write down those things which you already know to be true, and that you don't like about yourself.

Instead of constantly trying to push them to the back of your mind (as I usually do) let's bring them out into the light, make items out of them, and after that we'll be able to deal with them and eliminate or change them.

 So, here's my breakfast list:

• I fail at most things that I do.
• I don't know how to plan.
• I don't know how to prioritize.
• I spend to much time focusing on small things.
• I unrealistically think that people should just offer to help me. 
• I don't know how to ask for help.
• I spend a lot of time being "busy" but not "productive".
• I don't provide a stable income for my family.
• I didn't turn out to be who I wanted to be.
• I make lists and then do nothing about it.
• I've always believed that I would win the lottery.

And that's basically it. I could probably go on to provide a paragraph or two about each one, but that's not really the point of this exercise. I know what I mean by each of them, and you'll know what you mean too. The Breakfast List is yours. It's a way to shine some light into those dark corners of your life, and only by doing that will you be able to take control and start doing something.

Have a nice day, and if you do decide to post your own Breakfast List, please come back here and let me know in the comments section, or do a trackback.

Thanks,

Me

 

The Breakfast List | The Lunch List | The Dinner List

Life. Cruiseliner or sailboat?

While pondering the many roads one might be able to travel in life…..

The decisions that you make can lead you in many different directions.

How do you determine where you are headed?

What tools do you have at your disposal to measure how far you still have to go, or how far that you have already gone?

Destination or the journey?

In your life, do you try to obtain your goals like a Cruiseliner heading to its destination, making small course corrections in order to get where you think that you wish to be?

Or, do you live your life like a sailboat, at the mercy of the wind, letting each little outside influence determine your destination?

Are you enjoying each day as it arrives, or are you living for the tomorrow as you envision it to be? Do you take the time to notice the present, or are you so focused on the outcome and not noticing what is happening right now?

The time is right now

I would think that if one cannot enjoy life, as it is right now, then no matter what else may come along in the future, the ability to enjoy it will not be there either.

A new house, a promotion, or winning the lottery – those fleeting moments, while they may change your course of life, they don't change who you are or how you process what is most important to you on any given day.

Around and around we go

If we are all lucky, we will get to travel around the sun about 100 times. In the end, nothing we've gathered along the way will matter – the only thing which will matter is who we've touched along the way. 

Once we are gone, there will still be others finishing up their journey, and how you've touched them just might determine how the rest of their trips around the sun turn out.