If today was the last day of your life, what would you change?
When Elizabeth Gilbert quoted an older friend who said that every thoughtful woman, every ten years, should take some time to be alone with herself, in order to re-examine the direction of her own life, and to decide if any alterations need to be made, it made an impression on me.
Perhaps we shouldn’t do this just at the turn of a decade, but at the point of every major change in life circumstance. Or even every New Year.
We change over time, and if we don’t take time out to think about how the next chapter of our lives is going to pan out, we may drift along and before we know it another year will have passed.
Gilbert says:
Ask yourself if the moment has come to check in with yourself. Make sure that your values, dreams, goals, and companions are still appropriate — not for the person you once were, not even for the person you THOUGHT you would someday be … but for the woman you have actually become.
Ask that woman what she really wants.
Maybe you need make some time to be by yourself and find out what you want. If you feel like your time for dreams and adventures is over, perhaps it’s time to check in with yourself.
This year, my goal is to have set times each month to have a mini-retreat and check in with myself. Instead of waiting for a year to pass, a monthly check-in will give me the opportunity to make sure that the intentions I set at the beginning of the year are being fulfilled.
I am quite thoughtful and I need to have some silence every day in order to contemplate. This is sometimes spiritual, but mostly just a desperate need for quiet–it’s just how I work best.
Take a Moment Mondays is a strategy to make sure that I don’t drift this year. Taking time to check in with myself is important. I don’t want to wait a whole year before I stop and take stock. In January, I went away for two days on my own to work on a book, but also to just have quiet time.
This month, it’s been more difficult, but I’m planning a day retreat at a cafe to write, journal, and think.
Next month, I have a few days in Sydney before a conference to check in with myself.
You don’t have to go away to have a mini-retreat and check in with yourself. You can take yourself out for coffee, go for a walk along the beach, or close the bedroom door and tell your family you’re taking some time alone. When I had young children, I’d take a long shower and take time to think.
Checking in with ourselves is important. Our lives and the direction they take are important. Today’s question will cause you to check in with yourself. Why not take a moment, a few minutes, an hour, and check in with yourself today?
Take A Moment Monday
It’s always a good time to take a moment and ask ourselves, if this was the last day of our life, what would we change?
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