What if this was your last week on this planet? Seriously now, just a take a couple moments and really let yourself wrap your head around this one. I promise you it'll be worth it.
What if your life was almost over? How would you feel? Would you be thrilled at how you've lived or would you be filled with regrets?
Life gets going so fast sometimes that you don't even really get a chance to stop and think if you're headed in the direction you want. I know things certainly get to that place for me. Then life feels like it just comes at you and a lot of times all you have a chance to do is react and swing back, knee gerk fashion. It's pretty easy to get into a place where you're reacting to life instead of actively living your life.
Actively living brings a sense of purpose and happiness. It feels like you're really "living." You're doing the things you want to do. You're thinking about the things you want to be thinking about.
Reactive living on the other hand just feels like you're one step ahead of an avalanche--running, trying to get out of the way and choosing the path of least resistance. Reactive living doesn't feel so good. It doesn't plug you into much happiness or life purpose. It also leaves a huge pile of regrets.
Regrets are bitter. They poison your life whether you're aware of them or not. They're toxic and they spread like a cancer. One regret leads to two which leads to three then four. You get the idea. Not a pretty picture to be sure.
You don't have to live that way and there are some very simple questions you can ask yourself to stay on track.
1. "If this were my last week on this planet is this how I'd be living?"
I don't mean by this question that you should drop everything and run to the Bahamas. Mostly what we're talking about here is what you're doing with your mind. What you think about paves the way for what's coming. So you want to make sure your mind is where you want it to be.
2. "What really matters to me?" "Is this something that's going to rank in the top 10 on my death bed?"
Okay, I know there I go again with the death bed. But this is a very powerful question. If you can really let yourself take a moment here and there and ask yourself "is this something that's going to matter when I die," you'll find that 99.5% of the things you worry about won't pass the test.
3. "How do I feel?"
Now this question seems so simple as to just be downright stupid. But it's probably not one you ask yourself very often. And by ask I mean really ask. I mean take the time to really notice how you're feeling. Stop when you're about to make a choice and let yourself be guided by your intuition. When you're about to go in a direction of conscious living you feel clear and there's a bit of energy, sometimes a lot. But if you're about to just react to life, to be a puppet to some stress or other, then you don't feel so good. Let yourself follow your feelings. Get to know yourself. Notice when you're hot and when you're cold and guide yourself along. You won't ever go wrong when you follow your heart.
Jot these three questions down on a slip of paper and tuck them in your pocket. Use them. Take them out here and there and give yourself some time. Take some time for yourself so you can consciously live your life.
