When we establish our goals, we often look at them with a narrow scope. Instead of considering every area of our life, we focus on one aspect – typically our career – and assess how our actions contribute to that goal.
In reality, our career is only a fraction of how we spend our lives and where we derive happiness, meaning, and fulfillment. Our physical/mental/spiritual health, the quality of our relationships, and the strength of our family bonds carry so much weight in how we feel both day-to-day and over time, yet we allocate far less time for development of those areas than we do for our career.
Life is a continual process of changing and adapting in an attempt to find an optimal balance. “What Matters” is a subjective answer, and there really isn’t a right or wrong answer to it. The beauty of life is that each person, each individual gets to decide what matters to them, and how they want to spend their time.
All I ask is that you look at life through a wide lens. When deciding how you want to distribute your time and energy, choose the things that will matter to you at the end of your life. The things that don’t fade from memory, and continue to produce joy. Pursue the fleeting moments, yes, but remember to make time for what matters.