What are the things that you believe are important in life? Different people give different answers to this questions. These sometimes focus on the following themes.
The specific things that for
me are important in life are:
To care for my loved ones … To encourage people … To do my best in life and feel at peace.
To continue to be grateful … To serve something greater than myself … To do positive work that helps to people or the planet.
To make the most of my talents … To give people positive memories for life … To give hope to both present and future generations.
Different people arrive at focusing on what is important in life in different ways. This can involve some of the following approaches.
The Shock Approach
Some people have a shock that leads them to focusing on what it important in life. This can take different forms. Let’s look at some examples.
A person may have a serious illness that encourages them to review their priorities. Vulnerability is a great teacher. People who go through such an experience may say things like:
“Life is short. Make the most of each day.”
A person may have a personal or professional shock. They may lose a loved one, have a divorce or be made redundant. This can lead to a Eureka Moment where they choose to change their lives.
A person may reach a point where they see things in perspective and take stock of their life. They may aim to clarify: a) what they have already done in their life; b) what they want to do in the rest of their life.
Different people do this in different ways. Much depends, of course, on their situation. One person expressed this in the following way.
“My situation was fortunate but there came a point where I felt exhausted. I helped to found a company that kept increasing its value. But then we reached a critical stage.
“One option was to expand the company with a view to having a big financial event. The potential prize might be great but it was not guaranteed. There would also be a price to pay.
“I had previously enjoyed my work but it had turned into a grind. This had an effect on me and my family. Looking ahead, I did not fancy five years of not enjoying work with the hope of maybe get a future pot of gold.
“Bearing this in mind, I made several decisions. These involved giving up some of my share options and taking the following steps.
“First, to spend more time at home helping our teenage children and my partner. This was important as our children grew up and developed their interests in dancing, sports and other activities.
“Second, to recraft my role in the company to play to my strengths and do the things I felt enthusiastic about. This helped me to make my best contribution to the company.
“Third, to take care of my psychological health. This led to doing several creative projects and also acting as a mentor for young entrepreneurs in our local community.”
As mentioned earlier, this person was in a fortunate position. They decided to do things that gave them positive energy, however, rather than be miserable working towards a potential future paradise.
The Serving Something
Greater Than Your Self Approach
A person may reach a point where they choose to serve something greater than themselves. They may aim to follow a spiritual faith, a vocation or a sense of mission.
People who take this approach find their priorities change. They then sometimes take the following steps:
They start each day by focusing on what they believe are the most important things in life;
They clarify the practical things they want to do that day to focus on these things;
They translate these ideas into action and get a sense of satisfaction from serving something greater than themselves.
There are many ways for a person to spend their days. One approach is for them to focus on what they believe to be the most important things in life.
Imagine that you want to follow elements of this approach. How can you keep focusing on your top priorities? What are the practical things you can do to translate these into action? What may be the benefits of taking these steps?
If you wish, try tackling the exercise on this theme. This invites you to complete the following sentence.
The Taking Stock Approach
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