It’s been a long process to get clarity on these 5 aspects of being alive which I value most. I think I’ve been working toward this for my entire adult life, and it was finally during the 2019 holiday season that most of this finally fell out in my morning journaling. I suspect many people do this naturally and subconsciously, and I envy them. For me the conscious act of writing it out has been empowering. I find myself using these as filters to make decisions about what I want to do with this one wild and precious life. Activities I plan or events I attend, how to spend my free time and vacation time, career decisions, who I spend my time with – all of these are better informed through the lens of these filters.
What I Value Most (my definitions)
Community – Bringing people together. Usually working together on something.
Freedom – Uninhibited flow: personally, professionally, financially, emotionally, physically.
Adventure – Avoiding routine. Making each day feel longer because my brain is constantly stimulated in different ways. This is a way to slow down time; to extend life by staying awake and turned on.
Mindfulness – Self-awareness of who I am, what made me this way, what choices I am in control of, and how to let go of the things I can’t control.
Love – Heart glowing. Romance. Children, friends, family. Sacrificing my needs for someone else’s. Offering support for another’s hardships. Being tamed and taming another.
What if I organized my life in a way that everything I do filters up to at least one of these passions? What would THAT feel like?
Even back off from that a little – what if 90% of my life was spent doing things that align with these passions? Wouldn’t that be an incredible way to live?
That’s my next step of this journey. Getting to 90%. Some actions I’m taking in 2020:
– Resigned from the Transportation Advisory Board. This is meaningful work that is valuable to the community and is often very satisfying. But it doesn’t align with my definition of COMMUNITY, so I am leaving this post in February.
– I love riding my eBike to work. Yes it’s good for my health, and for the environment, and for my pocketbook. But the real motivator is FREEDOM and ADVENTURE.
– Networking into the local running group at the office and organizing a running relay team in 2020. Inviting friends and musicians to play music every Wednesday. This is how I can help build COMMUNITY.
– Reading, watching TED talks, attending seminars, and meditating are all part of my internal process toward MINDFULNESS.
– Regarding LOVE, well I’m checking in with my kids and with my girlfriend on this one. 🙂
I feel clear and energized and can’t wait to see where this goes in 2020.
As point of reference I’m recording these mental notes of tools that helped me get clear:
– ‘My Passions’ Cards
– Advice from a speaker I once heard: “Where do you spend your money? What do you make time for even when there is no time?”
– This blog post about reverse-engineering your life style (Know how you want to live, and then fit a career around that vision.)
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