WE HAVE AN AMAZING ABILITY TO OVERESTIMATE WHAT WE can do in the next five years and totally underestimate what we can do in the next fifteen minutes.
It seems that we spend 80 percent of our time planning and 20 percent implementing and progressing. Very few can really execute on purpose.
This is not to say that planning is a bad thing. In fact, planning is critical. But a line must be drawn; a distinction must be made. Notice that when I took the time to plan the second 20,000 days of my life, I did it in forty-eight hours. And then I set out to live those days.
Do you know how much time you could spend planning 20,000 days? Some couples take an entire year just to plan their wedding—an event that will be one of the most special memories of their lives, but will last only a few hours.
How much more should you plan for your life’s legacy? What do you most want to be remembered for when you’re gone? When would NOW be a good time to make this decision?
Here are ten things you could do in the next fifteen minutes that would make a drastic difference in your day:
1. Call a family member whom you have not spoken to in a while. Tell them you love them. Honor them.
2. Make a list of the top five priorities in your life today. Prioritize them. Now act on them in order, completing each priority or making major progress on some portion of it.
3. Invite a close friend to dinner.
4. You know that thing you’ve been putting off? Do it.
5. Begin your next big project, no matter how big it is. When I could not get started on a term paper in high school, my teacher told me, “Starting is half finished.” A huge encouragement then—and now.
6. If you don’t have a next big project, come up with one. It can be something as simple as organizing the garage. Or it can be as big as writing a book.
7. Start reading the book you’ve been meaning to pick up.
8. Exercise. Begin living healthily. Enjoy the gift that is your body.
9. Crank up some of your favorite music and jump around. Dance. Celebrate the day! Celebrate this moment!
10. Go outside and breathe deeply. Be still. Listen. Be grateful. Simply say, thank YOU!