Have you ever thought about your last words will be? The final note in the symphony that was your life. I was listening to Stephen R. Covey's book, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and he made reference to the fact that no one ever goes to the grave wishing they had watched more television or played more video games. Most people say they wished they had more time with family and friends, or wished they had spent more time on things that really mattered. This got me thinking about two things. First, what do I want my last words to be? Second, what am I going to wish I had spent more time doing or being? I promise this isn't going to be a depressing post! Let's dive in!
Mostly for dramatic effect I want to leave the first question for last so let's take a look at where I will wish I spent my time/who I wanted to be? I think I will look back and wish I spent more time doing things of true value. What I mean is that often when the choice arises to either do something of value or something fun and entertaining I choose fun. Don't get me wrong, we should have fun. Entertainment is a valuable part of the human experience, but it becomes too easy to choose it over something worthwhile because fun is easier. It requires less of me. What a horrible reason to do anything! The good thing is I think I have some time to change this. A lot of time I hope. Here are the steps I am going to follow in order to make better choices when it comes to my time. I hope you use these steps also and we both will have a life filled with value and not just fun.
1. Determine what we value. (Family, friends, God, goals, etc.)
2. Where do we spend our time now. (Actually keep track. The results will frighten us!)
3. Where do we need to change. (Make a list. Rate them on importance and time spent currently on the area in need of change. Example: #1 Watching TV - 3 hours/day - )
4. Attack one area at a time. (Write out what we want to fill our time with. Remember it's ok to have fun so don't cut out "Watching TV" all together. Just trim it down. Example: Spend an hour writing a blog everyday. Spend another hour with my wife and daughter. Spend hour three watching TV. Do this for all the areas and see how it goes)
5. Review Results. (After a few weeks we need to take inventory of our "new life". See if there are areas we need to make changes and also take inventory of how you feel about it. )
6. Stay the course! (This is probably the hardest step. We will get lazy and start to sink back into our old ways. It's inevitable. First of all, forgive ourselves! We are allowed to make mistakes. Second, remember why we wanted to make these changes and then get back on the horse.)
Let me know how it's going for you and I will do the same. Take control of your time. It is the only thing you can give to someone and not get back.
Now to my last words. I have put a lot of thought in to this and I here's what I've come up with...
Cheers!
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