Strong Reasons for Living
Ideas to increase your strong reason for living
· Write down how old you want to be when you die (e.g., 100) and your ideal obituary.
· Do the Strong Reasons Activity regularly. Imagine you have $20 billion dollars, perfect health, and guaranteed success. What would you do? Then imagine your doctors tell you that you will die suddenly in 18 months without experiencing any prior symptoms. What would you do with your remaining time? Now compare your two answers. Where do they match up, and what does this tell you about your reasons for living, regardless of circumstances?
· Find windows of time: Don’t presume that your passion should be your job. You do not need to quit your day job in order to find your life’s purpose. All you need are windows of time to be spontaneous, set aside your inhibitions, try something fun, and enjoy a change of pace. Block out some meaningful time for an afternoon or evening. Start by turning off your phone, TV, computer, and other devices, and then give yourself permission to do whatever you want for the time you have allotted.
· Find the experts. Read books, listen to podcasts, or watch online videos to help you identify your own unique reasons for living. Some of the most popular experts on this topic include Jack Canfield, Iyanla Vanzant, Elizabeth Gilbert, Michael Beckwith, Martha Beck, Louise Hay, Richard J. Leider, and Victor J. Strecher.
· Connect to your inner child. What games, sports, art, and/or activities did you enjoy as a child? Did you like riding your bike? Fixing things? Playing a certain sport? Painting? Dancing? Writing stories? When did you experience the greatest joy in your life? Think
back to the activities you enjoyed most, write them down, and brainstorm how you might incorporate them into your life now.
· Play with children. Children know how to play. If you have nieces or nephews (biological or honorary), or children or grandchildren of your own, make time to play with them. Observe their ability to live in the moment, and practice being playful with them. Sometimes our reason for living can be as simple as having fun and enjoying each
day as much as possible. Children can show you how to do just that.
· Create a life purpose statement. Take a few minutes and write down a description of what your life would look like if everything were “perfect” from your unique point of view. Write in the present tense. What are you and those around you doing? How do you feel? What does it mean and look like to have everything you want? Combine these thoughts into one statement, and you will have a clearer idea of your life purpose.
· Volunteer for a charity that interests you. When you give of yourself to help others, it fills your soul and gives meaning to your life. Volunteering for a nonprofit organization in your community—ideally in person, as opposed to online—will not only make you
feel good but will also help others and help you to live according to your values.
This factor is at the core of my personal "re-mission to thrive". My biggest hurdle is consistency. How do others prioritize circling back to this (or another factor that's your "keystone")? Accountability is a tricky beast to tame when it's to myself.