2024: 7 Question to Change Your Life

May 24, 2024

• Do you know your personal values?

  • The OCD in me would like this to be a congruent list of five words, but I can’t help myself. Six it is. Today they are Connection, Humor, Faith, Inclusivity, Health, and Open Mindedness. I aim for these values to guide my life through the decisions, thoughts, and goals I create and act on. Ultimately they are the guidelines for how I aim to show up in the world. They are the colander by which I sift out the excess and the things that don’t serve me.

• Have you identified your personal mission?

  • Why are you on this earth?

  • What is your unique contribution to this world?

  • As recent as last year the answer to this question would be different than what it is today. In line with my values above I think I’m on this earth to build deep relationships, love others well, and share Jesus. I don’t know how to quantify achievement here in my day to day, but the goal is for it to make into my eulogy one day.

• Where are you heading right now?

  • If you were to change nothing, where would you end up in 5 years?

  • If you kept your daily habits as is, or keep investments where they are, what is your trajectory?

  • Are you content where you are?

  • An obviously difficult question, but perhaps the most important one to redirect the rudder. This is the catalyst. The motivation inducer.

    The drops in the proverbial bucket of our lives add up. Hitting multiple reps are what make you consistent. What am I consistent in? Do I do things every single day that contribute to my values of Connection, Humor, Faith, Inclusivity, Health, and Open Mindedness? Like many things in life it is a spectrum. I also don’t think I will ever be fully content, satisfied, or comfortable - I have an insatiable hunger to grow in some form or fashion. I may only achieve total rest once in Heaven, and I am ok with that. So, connection. This is an area where there are ebbs and flows. In this instance I feel connected in some relationships, distant in others, but it is a place where I am consistently working it out.

    There is no such thing as laughing too much, in my opinion.

    As far as inclusivity goes, I wonder how I can include others in unconventional ways. The default I think of is how to bring in people in a social setting, but it’s not sustainable. This is something I’ll continue to reflect on - it’s a place I can do a better job of nurturing.

    I think of health in a similar way to inclusivity. How can I invest in this area in ways that aren’t assumed. I workout and walk (essentially) every day. I am working on cleaning up my food intake and the types of nutrients I consume. I recently started going to therapy, too. I guess staying consistent in the habits I currently am taking on is enough.

    And for the cherry on top, open mindedness. Hmm. It is so important to me to be open minded, and yet, I find myself in patterns where I am doing the opposite. I’ve shared with some people that I can be critical - as an aside, I do want to explore when is it being critical, when is it having standards, and when is it possible to not criticize, but also not accept something or be obligated to keep it in within your life?

• Can you envision a better future?

  • Deeper relationships?

  • Better health?

  • More meaning in your spirituality?

  • Absolutely. And I hope others can too. I think you can be content where you are, and still desire to grow. The difference is always being grateful for where you currently are in your life. Anyway, like I shared in the question above - I want to continue to grow. I think I am at baseline where I am proud of the life I’m living, but there is always room for augmentation, in all areas. My priority right now is continuing to deepen my spiritual routines and relationship with Jesus, if I have that right, everything else follows.

• Are you connected to your deepest motivations?

  • The why of your life; intellectual and emotional

  • What is at stake if you don’t accomplish this? And what is possible?

  • This questions brings up the question of whether I am being authentic? Is the life I desire, in my mind, matching up to the life I am living. Do I have integrity? Am I virtuous? I believe I am, for the most part. But also have to be honest with myself - I am not where I want to be, therefore I must change direction in some aspects of my life. A shallow and half-lived life is at stake and it’s not one I desire to pursue.

• What are your key milestones?

  • How will you determine and achieve the answers to the questions above?

    • Connection - Invest 30 minutes in my deepest relationships each week asking hard questions, learning something new, rediscovering similarities and differences.

    • Humor - Listen and read lighthearted content throughout the week. I am drawn to dense and thought provoking material and I could trade it in for something playful now and then.

    • Faith - Daily consumption of the word and continuing to serve at church

    • Inclusivity - Need to continue thinking on this…

    • Health - Restore my metabolism, maintain consistency in my workouts, and continue in therapy for my mental health

    • Open Mindedness - Read and engage in conversation in topics that are contrary to my way of thinking

• What are the habits that will serve your vision?

  • Daily consistency and being obsessed with being 1% better