Friday Musings—28/07/23

Are you paying attention to how your daily actions are shaping your life? If you haven't read it yet, in this week's post I discuss the cumulative impact of all the small choices we make on a daily basis. As always, I invite you to share your thoughts and insights in the comments. I'd love to get your feedback and continue the conversation.

Now onto my weekly musings 😎

How we will wish to have lived.

In our last monthly group coaching session, we engaged in a discussion centered around our vision for greatness (keeping in mind that greatness is subjective; we all have different ideas on what would make for a fully accomplished life). Two questions stood out for me.

1) What would other people say makes you great? Sometimes it's easier to see ourselves through other people's eyes. Think about what your family and friends would say about you and what they would list as your strengths and accomplishments. If you're still not sure, ask them directly. In my case, I believe they would bring up my curiosity and my ability to connect and strike up a conversation with almost anyone.

2) Imagine you're 90 years old and looking back on your life's journey. What moments of pride and fulfillment emerge? What will have made you and your life great? In other words, let's reflect now on how we will wish to have lived before the time comes. Personally, I still have a lot of thinking to do in this regard.

Resolutions for a life worth living.

In keeping with the theme of greatness, let me share with you this wonderful article by Maria Popova. Her site, The Marginalian, has long been a favorite of mine. Do yourself a favor and go read how great humans of the past, from Hannah Arendt to Seneca, from Viktor Frankl to Tolstoy, to name a few, chose to live their lives.

Why seek self-improvement?

A few days ago, I was discussing my coaching experience so far with a friend of mine, who asked me about the ultimate purpose of personal development and whether it might end up reinforcing navel-gazing and individualism, both of which already abound in our society. It's a valid question.

I've previously mentioned that I, too, was rather skeptical towards the entire world of coaching and personal development, and to be honest I still am to some extent. However, my answer to the question of why we should seek self-improvement is pretty simple. We should work on ourselves to become better citizens, parents, partners, friends, colleagues. In short, to become better humans and contribute to making the world a better place. It may sound corny and simplistic, sure. But imagine what the world would look like if each of us worked on developing more self-awareness, more resilience, and more empathy. If we all adopted a growth mindset, lived with more intentionality, and strived to leave a positive and impactful legacy. Wouldn't you want to live in that world?

Quote of the week ✍️

"I am who I am today because of the choices I made yesterday". (Eleanor Roosevelt)

That's all from me today, enjoy your weekend and TTYS

ML