“This is your life and it’s ending one minute at a time.” – Fight Club
Every year of my life seems to go by faster and faster. The older I get the more I want to make the most of the short time I have. I want to do everything that I can to create a fulfilling and meaningful life in the years ahead of me. At the end of my life I want to have done what really matters. I want to have done my best and made a mark in the world. I like to imagine that I’m 90 years old looking back over my life. What would I want my present self to know at the end of my life? This makes me think of my late grandmother. I remember when she was on her death bed how I admired, a midst the sadness, that she had really lived a full and exciting life. She had a large family and friends who cared about her until her last day, and she was incredibly generous, offering wonderful opportunities and memories to all of her family.
“Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you’re not taking advantage of it? Do you realize you’ve lived nearly half the time you have to live already?” ― Ernest Hemingway
I’m sure she did more than I will ever know. I want to have a life with as much zest, adventure, and heart as she did. This is everyone’s goal isn’t it? To have more from life, more accomplishment, more love given and received, more enjoyment and more happiness. To go from surviving to thriving! Here are three questions that I want to answer yes to on my last day!
Did I live?
Do you ever feel like a zombie dragging your feet through life? There is a fine line between just surviving and truly thriving. Almost anyone can skimp through life and get by, but is this really what we’re meant to do? I think it’s important to ask whether we are really living a full and meaningful life? Everyone has a different personality and preference for what a full and meaningful life is of course.
“Do what you love to do, what you are waiting to do, what you’ve been born to do, now.” – David Deida
That’s why it’s important to discover what emotionally fills us up and makes us feel truly alive. I think making more time for what we want to do and what is important to us are two ways to stimulate passion and fulfillment. Use your life to the fullest. Don’t hold back from playing the game. Safety isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. Live bold and be willing to make the most of each day!
Did I Love?
At the end of your life, relationships are what really matter. Having luxurious things and doing enjoyable activities are nice, but what we have and what we do pale in comparison to the people we share our life with. Love isn’t just about family or friends either. It is a mindset. It is a way of being in life that allows you to influence and impact others. As the Beatles said, “And, in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.” Life is too short to hold onto resentment and bitterness. Let it go and open your heart to love and joy. Don’t take relationships for granted any longer. Express and emanate love to the world and see what you get in return.
The past explains how I got here, but the future is up to me – and I love to live life at full throttle.” – Janice Dickinson
Did I Matter?
I believe we all matter simply because we are alive, but this idea is deeper than that to me. It is more about how I contributed to other and made a difference. This can be on a small or large scale. There are things we can do to serve others on a daily basis, and there are bigger ways to serve that can help us be remembered long after we’re gone. What do you do that matters to others on a daily basis? What is the legacy that you want to be remembered for? What is the mission you want to take on? I believe in dreaming big and shooting for the stars. Even if we fall short we have still pushed our potential further. Make your life matter. This might be the only opportunity you have!
“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
