Life is Always Changing...and So Are You!

Life is different when we discover what is deeply important to us.
Stevphen Covey

by Skip Cohen

​My second favorite blog day of the week, right after Throwback Thursday, is Sunday. Why? Because I always step away from business topics. It's my time to violate the rule that the "experts" say you should never share personal things outside what your readers might consider the norm.

I started out writing about being estranged from my family and, on checking, saw that I had written about it just a few months ago. Next, I considered Alzheimer's, then, learning to step away from trolls, and a half dozen other topics, which, upon checking, had all been covered this past year.

Great quotes always come through for me, and finding the Stephen Covey quote above, it hit me hard with how appropriate it is...right now...today! Lou Mitchell, along with the quote, wrote, "By focusing on what deeply resonates with us, we can navigate life's challenges with greater purpose and resilience."

For all of you 50 and under, as you get older, your priorities change. From how you react to the challenges of life to your drive for success, everything changes.  The things you worry about most change dramatically. For example, I have two good friends whose wives are both fighting the most extreme types of dementia, one with FTD (Frontotemporal Dementia) and the other with Alzheimer's and FTD. In both cases, I've known both couples for over thirty years. Up until a few years ago, I never spent much time worrying about my health or Sheila's. Now, I want to do everything I can to focus on our health...and I tear up after every phone call with either of the friends above.

Politics is another area that I've always ignored. After all, there was rarely anything I could do to have an impact beyond dinner conversation or an evening out with friends. That's all different now...My feelings about everything from the stupidity of the government shutdown, taxes, to social security, health benefits, housing, school lunches, fires, floods, and the homeless, just to name a few, have all made me feel differently about life.

As you get older, you discover that the things most important to you at the start of your life as an adult, start to drop down the list. Your outlook on life is constantly changing. Your priorities and appreciation for so many things you took for granted change. Time becomes your most valuable commodity, as each day the hands of the clock spin like the passing of time in an old Hollywood movie, and there's no Back-to-the-Future vehicle to let you make changes from the past.

Sheila and I live a relatively uncomplicated and simple life. We've learned to shut the door on family drama. Our commitment to each other and the pups is at the very top of the list. We do our best to exercise every day following our doctors' guidelines for good health. We get a full night's sleep, even sneaking in a 45-minute nap every day (why should kindergarten kids have all the fun? A short nap is the perfect way to recharge!) And sometimes we just kick back and talk, sharing how we feel about so many different topics.

Here's my point—I hope you can take a little while today to think about who and what are most important to you. A great life is all about having minimal regrets. Do the people most important to you know the role they play in your life? Do they know how much of your heart they occupy? Yeah, it's sappy, but that's what all of this is about - loving your life and the people in it! 

Wishing you a day ahead with plenty of time to focus on the things that make up your core values. Take the time to turn back the clock ten years and consider how much you've changed. And who were the people who have never let you down? The ones you can always count on to be there for you.

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo,
but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.
Oprah