After my recent health hiccup, I’ve often found myself “contemplating my navel.” An expression we used to use to describe “in deep thought.”
There comes a point when the well of resilience, though vast, begins to show its limits; and one realizes there are only so many times a body can truly “bounce back” without a fundamental shift in approach. While the past remains unchangeable, the canvas of our present and future behaviors lies entirely within our power to reshape.
This realization has brought into sharp focus the imperative that I express the profound love I hold for my wife and family in every thing I do or say. It’s a truth that health challenges, along with the chronic aches and pains, can subtly erode patience and foster irritability. In these moments, it becomes even more important to actively counter these tendencies. As my coaches used to say, it’s time to “double down” on what truly matters and, paradoxically, to “slow down” the relentless pursuit of countless objectives.
I recall a time when a yellow legal pad was my constant companion, an ever-present testament to ambition, filled with lists of tasks to be conquered and accomplishments to be tallied. There was a distinct pride in striking through each completed item. Yet, that metric now feels insufficient. My new objective is to drastically shorten that list, and for items to be crossed off not due to completion, but because, upon reflection, they “just weren’t that important” after all.
A truly successful life, particularly a mature one, begins not with endless accumulation but with the discerning act of limiting priorities to those few that resonate, and then pursuing those chosen few only with love and intention.
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