Life happens! Our environment shapes it and we adapt – until a defining moment when we must all pause and question: How will we live our life?
It takes curiosity and courage to ask ourselves how will we be remembered and to live in accordance to those values.
For it is not how long we live, but simply how?
The relentless pursuit of such things like wealth, possessions, power, career, even health does not guarantee the result. And even if we achieve the loftiest of such goals, satisfaction is fleeting…leaving us wanting.
But do we really desire to be remembered for accomplishing any of these?
Regardless of how insignificant a life we lead, we will all be remembered.
What matters is not by how many, but by how!
For over a decade, I’ve argued for the practice of quantity time at home and quality time at work.
More recently, I’ve realised that even at work, it is the human engagement that matters most. The lives we change, including our own – from shared experiences. Not just with those inside our organisation but with all those we interact with.
So that in the end, we have left the world a better place than when we found it. That in some small way, we offered a smile to a sad face, a glimmer of hope at at time of despair, a shoulder of support when needed, clarity in times of confusion and engaging those around us so they can truly contribute to a common goal.
It pays to reflect on our life away from work too. How many non-work friends do we have – not those on Facebook – but real friends, ones we meet or speak with at least once a fortnight or month?
If we deleted all our work-related contacts from our phone, who would be left to call?
For despite all our illusions of self-importance, we are replaceable at work and irreplaceable at home.
It is easy to ignore the subtle silence of family and friends amidst the demanding screams of the work place.
Until it is all too late and we have left ourselves not enough time to have memorable experiences, meaningful relationships and a full life worth remembering.
