If I told you that you were going to die tomorrow, would it change the way you live today?

It should.

This question may seem irrelevant because you are probably not going to die tomorrow and no one could predict it anyway. But I believe the question should make you do more than think.

It should be a catalyst to bring on changes. Changes that move you into the present moment and out of the future or the past.

If you, like me, have spent way too much of your precious life here on earth doing things that didn't really matter, you might feel a pang of remorse when you ponder the question.

A twinge of regret for the moments lost, adventures rejected, and connections missed while you went about accomplishing all your ridiculous goals. Or a pang of sadness for all the frustrating attempts to prove yourself worthy that ultimately resulted in added  disappointment. You might even experience some reservation at the out of character actions you took trying to be accepted, included and appreciated.

And nothing grabs at a girl's heart more than realizing how silly it was to try to control the future by planning the life out of everyone and everything around her, even if it all started with good intentions.

For highly sensitive people like me, fitting into a world where you feel you stand out (for all the wrong reasons) is sometimes a major objective, a vision clouding objective. We get caught up in the doing, and we forget about the being. What we don't realize is that when we try so hard to 'fit in', those little compromises we make occur at the expense of our souls and eventually mess with our self-worth.

When we don't live in the present, we put off things that matter thinking we will have time to do it later. Until later comes and we comprehend all the missed opportunities.

I'm sure you've heard the saying many times 'live each moment like it is your last'  and maybe you, like me, would pause and reflect for a moment on where you were spending your time and attention, and then go right back to doing things the way you have always done.

When I finally recognized my life was not heading in the right direction, I changed it.

And in doing so not only changed my life, but the lives of those I love. What greater inspiration is there than leading by example?

So many good changes have come from being more aware, from living in the moment right in front of me. For a long, long while I forgot how to appreciate. I was so caught up in planning it all out, in accomplishing things, in making sure that I was responsible and productive, that I lost "me" and life delivered me to my lowest moment. I was emotionally and physically exhausted from all that striving. And I realized I was missing the joyous parts of life.

If you knew that today was your last day--how many people would you want to see, talk to, hug, write a letter to, or tell how much they have meant to you? If you knew you were going to die tomorrow wouldn't you want to spend the minutes of your last day doing things that matter.

I would.

A while back I started to get the sense that my time was limited. Not in an I-am-going-to-die-tomorrow way, but like a wake up call to pay attention to all the little moments I was missing. Stopping to smell the roses was not in my original plan. It is the only plan now.

One moment at a time. One person at a time. One honest declaration of love, one heartfelt I'm sorry, one please forgive me, one hug filled with positive energy, one thank you so much, one I am listening, I see you, I hear you, one you can do it! Those are the moments that matter.

What would you do differently if this were your last day?

There is time to make a change. Follow your heart. Go on an adventure. Do absolutely nothing. Believe in yourself. Whatever it is that is different than what you usually do; do it. And do it with all the focus you can muster, as if it were the last time.

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

— Dr. Wayne Dyer

Are you guilty of the putting off doing something you've always wanted to do, until "this" happens....or until "that" happens?

Maybe your excuse is you will do it after you retire, have a certain amount of money saved, your baby turns two, your children graduate from high school, you get that next promotion, or you lose ten pounds?

How often do we stop ourselves from doing the things that really matter to us and delay experiencing joy for some time in the uncertain future? I bet we can all admit to regretting not having done something when we had the chance.

The reality of our procrastination of joy is that we could get time off from work to travel now, or pay for a vacation next month with credit, or take out a loan to buy a cottage while our kids are still young enough to want to go there with us (if we really wanted to). Think of it another way, would we figure out a way to make something happen if we knew our time was limited and we'd never get another chance? 

What holds us back from living life to the fullest when we can? Are we simply being financially responsible? Are we afraid that if we allow ourselves joy right now, we won't have anything to look forward to later? Do we fool ourselves into thinking that our workplaces or our families cannot function without us for a week or two? Or are we just better at dreaming, than actually doing?

We can use lack of time, shortage of money, responsibility to our jobs, or being over committed as our excuse for why we don't do things... but aren't we really our own roadblocks?

I was guilty of putting things off for years, and I convinced myself that when "this" happens.. then "this" can finally happen. Big things, and little ones. I even put off much needed relaxing time because the house wasn't clean or the laundry wasn't done (yet). Now I want all that time back because I have learned those things are never actually done.

The truth is we cannot control what happens in the future, nor do we know how we will feel when we get to that point in the future. Maybe what we once thought would be important to us "then" isn't even relevant anymore.

I'll bet you can think of some examples from your own life where you put something off...until. Or when someone you know worked hard to put away money to use for fun after they retired only to pass away unexpectedly.  Or maybe you heard about a couple who waited to travel the world (as they'd always wanted) only to have one of them become ill and no longer able to travel together at all?

The moral of the story: don't deny yourself the joy of now.

I once grumbled about spending $150 to fix a water stain in our first house's ceiling-- a necessary thing to get done before we attempted to sell that house --only to be completely amazed at how much better the place looked after we did it. Why hadn't we just done that while we lived there so we could enjoy the view?

So stop putting off the things that matter most. Take that vacation. Start that new hobby. Get that boat, or fix that ceiling. Feed your soul with the big and little things you want to do right now. We can't always be worried about the what if's and prepare for the what then's, or we will miss all the joy of the right now.

We have the power to alter, redirect and begin to enjoy our lives at any moment. So, what are you still putting off for someday?

And I don't mean the kind on the workbench that go into a toolbox, I am referring to the "tools" necessary to recharge your life. Things like self-help books, classes, workshops, videos, exercise classes or supplies for new hobbies.

If a person wants more joy or purpose in their daily life, one of the first things they often do is start something new. However if they only get as far as collecting the things to start a new hobby, or move in a new direction--  but never actually begin anything, they won't see much growth. They will simply be a tool collector and end up with more "stuff".

Let's say you have decided you need a creative outlet.  You start by buying all the materials needed to paint. It can be exciting just to research something new, and the trip out to buy those new supplies increases happiness levels. (A combo of shoppers high and a temporary sense of purpose.) What I find much harder, is mustering up the courage to actually use the paints.

For years I thought/said/believed that I had no creative talent. Spending 30 years in a field where I was surrounded by artists of all kinds didn't help me feel confident in my own limited abilities, and being highly critical of myself made it scary to even try. 

A few weeks ago I bought myself watercolor painting supplies and I actually dared to use them. I had so much fun creating "paintings", in truth they were more like scribbles, but I didn't let that bother me, I actually found myself smiling and happy the whole time. It was so freeing to paint and not care what it looked like when I was done. In some strange way it was mindless fun -- and it gave me the space to let some things I had been thinking about gel. As a result of my creative painting, I got clarity from within on something I do have some talent in, my writing.

While I have found it is easy to collect tools, using them is definitely harder. 

So I'm challenging you to do something that moves your spirit forward. Try making some time to read those self-help books you've collected and then be inspired to go do something out of your comfort zone. Take a step in a new direction, volunteer somewhere, join a group of people with a common interest, or sign up to try something you've always wanted to learn more about. You never know where one small step can eventually lead you. This I know from experience.

Question of the Week #51 / What Is One New Thing You Could Try To Get Out of Your Rut?

In case you didn't realize this, it's okay if the something new you try turns out to be something you don't like, or that you eventually lose interest in. It is even okay to stink at that something new and to be disappointed or embarrassed by what you consider a failure, the truth is, it is all part of moving forward and growing up.

If you find yourself liking the something new, you might also want to prepare yourself to be super energized and possibly a little impulsive about what comes next. Some things that I've tried lately have led to such positive energy, new ideas and good karma they've inspired me to take leaps not steps.

My advice: start with a step, but be prepared to leap. Comfort zones are not all they are cracked up to be.