A Sense of Urgency
Every now and then I get the feeling that I’m avoiding the most important questions in life and fret over the lesser details instead. It’s like I’m drowning out the real issues with a lot of noise.
I spend my time obsessing over the optimal productivity system, searching for the perfect text editor, refining my running style or generally trying to predict and prevent bad things from happening. How is that ever going to fix whats’s missing in my life? Maybe nothing is missing, I don’t know. I get so confused sometimes.
This is what I should ask myself:
- What’s really important to me in life, besides my family? What do I value?
- Why are those things important?
- What can I do to live life according to these values?
- What is the first step I can take in that direction?
Whenever I try to answer those questions my mind yells like a little girl and hides in a corner. Then I get a headache. It seems I don’t have the courage to actually admit what matters to me—and what doesn’t.
In theory the concept of values, and valued living, is pretty straightforward. A value, as opposed to a goal, is the direction you want to take your life in. A value can never be achieved, or checked of. You use it like a compass, to guide yourself through life’s many choices. This, I’ve been told, leads to a greater sense of contentedness. I get this, I really do. But I have trouble putting this into real action.
I’m now in the fourth decade of my life and I feel a sense of urgency. I need to figure this out before I get much older. One way or the other.
