This past weekend I received the news that someone I knew had passed away. It was quite a shock because of the circumstances. But having known that this person had made some pretty significant changes to improve her life over the past 18 months helped me deal with her passing. This caused me to think about how fleeting life is and the fact that none of us knows when our time here will be over. So I asked myself, "Am I doing what I believe is important for my time here on earth?" I am able to say that I am doing what feels like a calling for me, working with clients, helping them to make positive changes and learning from them as well. But, there is more to ask ourselves. What if you knew that today would be your last day? How would you spend your time? Who would you want to be with?

While this may sound like a very morbid topic to focus on, consider the song "Live like You were Dying" by Tim McGraw or the movie "The Bucket List". Even in the media and popular culture, there is a push to find real meaning in our lives. I have found over the years that most of us are quite dissatisfied with our lives, but feel powerless to make any effective changes. It is overwhelming for some people to comprehend all that life has to offer, so they sit back, almost paralyzed, not able to make any decisions. "I'll get to it one day. There's time for that later" they tell themselves. What are those thoughts, fears, desires that get pushed to the back burner? Why are we afraid to take a step in faith and try something totally different?

About 18 years ago, I spent a New Year's Eve making a list of things I wanted to do during my life. I actually had forgotten about it until I found it two years ago. I was very surprised to discover as I read over it, that I had accomplished nearly half of the fifty items listed. Even more surprising is that most of the remaining items are things I still want to do. I want to encourage each of you to make your own list. Don't worry about how you will make it happen, just put the idea clearly on paper, acknowledging that it is important to you. Include big things as well as small. Just make sure that you are being true to you and what's important for your life to have meaning.