In life (and particularly business) we are forever being busy. We are constantly in a state of agog between one task and another. As soon we arise from bed in the morning the day becomes a whirlwind of activities throughout a never-ending ‘to-do’ list that we barely make an impact upon before more ‘stuff’ gets added to the list.
In all of this agog do we ever make sufficient time to realise the things in our life that are truly important?
Do you recall the movie Sophie’s Choice (1982) in which Meryl Streep starred? A wonderful movie, but not for the faint hearted as the movie centre’s around a Holocaust survivor and the night she arrived at Auschwitz with her children and of how a Nazi officer forced her to choose the life of one child, and death for the other. Despite her plea of "Don't make me choose. I can't choose", Sophie's words fall on deaf ears. When a young Nazi is told to take both children away, she releases her daughter, shouting "Take my little girl!". Sophie can only watch as the screaming little girl is carried away to die, her guilt and despair all too clear.
I use this movie’s scene, not in an effort to disturb, but rather as a point of reference for us to determine where our ‘focus of attention’ is in relation to our own life purpose. Let me explain….
In life we have three great pillars that form the basis of our existence and happiness. They are what propel us through life ultimately to the point where we leave this earth, i.e. we pass on. These three great pillars are notably:
- Our (state of) Health
- Our Relationships (family & friends), and
- Money.
Each of these ‘pillars’ is of grand importance, the absence of which in our life will make living significantly unpleasant and measurably unhappy. The compelling question is however, if you had to make a “Sophie’s Choice of one of these three pillars, i.e. if you had to let go one of these important ‘pillars of life’, which one would it be?
Would you renounce your health, relationships or money?
Having thus chosen one, and with two remaining, which one of the two would you now drop, if you were required to make a “Sophie’s Choice” between the two?
To have to make dramatic choices such as these in a lifetime would undoubtedly be heart wrenching and immeasurably difficult, but I say that the necessity to have to make such choices is negated and significantly diminished if we are able to focus our considerable attention on them.
Many people, as they get older, allow their state of health to wain, to gain weight or not tend the body through adequate nutrition and exercise. Many people do not tend the quality of their personal relationships with family, loved ones and friends, so much so that it negatively impacts the value of their personal and business lives? How is that so many people are constantly in a state of struggle for money, mired in debt, or a slave to its demands?
Is it really necessary for us to be healthy to be happy? The answer is an emphatic yes. Do we need fulfilling and enriching relationships with our life partner, children, family members and friends to be happy? The answer again is a resounding yes. Do we require an adequate amount and supply of money, free of the impost and burden of debt to be happy? Yes indeed!
Two great enablers to a ‘better you’ is through the process of goal-setting and the allocation of time and within my book, “The Book of Testaments” I describe some simple, yet compelling practical exercises that we can undertake within our daily lives to propel us to a state of better health, relationships and financial well-being.
The start to a better YOU is all about setting goals and then feeling what it would be like to achieve them. It is about visualizing the extra energy you will have or how you will feel when fit into that pair of jeans or new dress. It is about feeling the exhilaration of being at your preferred weight or state of financial independence. A grand source of happiness and personal satisfaction can be derived from the deep sense of fulfillment that will arise from the achievement of your goals…it is all within you!
Loretta Jessep commented on 15-Sep-2010 09:16 PM
Loretta. Innisfail
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