What you do today will shape the way you live tomorrow. Reflecting on Iain Clague’s Focus on WHY episode 245 we talked about planning for the future, about how many people actually think about their later years and how they will be for them. Iain said that it is a conversation that people tend to push away and think that it is too far away to worry about today, that it is something to deal with in the future. However when I asked him when we should start thinking about our end of life care, Iain answered emphatically ‘in vitro’! A sobering response and yet could you be walking the tightrope of health by not addressing issues today? Putting off today that conversation to have tomorrow. One conversation with Iain will certainly get you thinking about your future. I am currently in the sandwich generation caring for those both sides of me. It is a situation that many of my peers in late 40s to mid 50s find themselves in. Regular trips to the hospital brings your mortality to the forefront. “The future depends on what you do today.” Mahatma Gandhi How about you? What does your tomorrow look like? Have you planned for your elder years? Have you taken responsibility for your own future or will you defer that responsibility to others? Six years ago now in my early 40s, I starting planning for my final years. Part of that process involved writing my own eulogy which I edit and update every year. I call it my letter from beyond: my Goodbye Letter. Writing it has really helped me to come to terms with my own mortality and also to recognise my achievements in life. It also helped me to focus on only the things that have meaning to me. I started really living with purpose and it has totally changed my perspective on life. Purpose is the value you choose to centre your life around and the reason to make a positive contribution to the world on whatever scale you choose it to be. It gives you the meaning in life which you seek. As you get older your answers to the life purpose questions that you ask yourself may change especially with changing circumstances. You begin to see what is essential and what is not. Your purpose evolves as you age and as you evolve. So my reflection with action from Iain’s episode is to challenge myself to live with purpose today, to plan for my elder years and to continue to Focus on WHY. How about you? Are you living with purpose now? And what’s next? Have you planned for your future? What does tomorrow hold for you? Your tomorrow is shaped by what you choose to do today. What you do today matters. What you do every day matters. Have a purpose. Have a plan. Focus on WHY. “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” Mother Teresa
ACTION POINT What will you do today that will shape the way you live tomorrow?
Amy