The idea of living life to the fullest or living a meaningful life can mean a lot of things to different people. One funeral director puts a strategy to practice each year as a way of helping him assess his life to make sure he’s living according to his values and therefore living a meaningful life. Victor Sweeney takes time at the end of each year to write his own obituary. He goes on to say this practice forces him to confront difficult questions like “What truly matters?”
This story opens up a broader conversation about how we all can accept this level of intention into our lives. This is a great example of an exercise in stepping back and evaluating your own journey. Other ideas include:
The Five-Year Funeral Exercise: In his Strategic Coaching course, life coach, Dan Sullivan suggests an assignment where you imagine your funeral five years from the present and think about what you hope and want people to say about you. You should leave this with clarity on what truly matters to you and the ability to set actionable goals to fulfill your intentions.
Gratitude Journaling: A simple daily or weekly reflection on what you were thankful for can help shift focus to the abundance in your life. A Harvard study found this act significantly improved overall happiness.
Annual Review: Similar to writing your own obituary at the end of each year, an annual review gives you the opportunity to look at success, accomplishments, challenges and areas for growth. Some people like the more structured approach in this example.
Simply put, life is finite and precious. Taking time to evaluate and look inward will always help you get closer to the type of life you want to live.