What Would You Do If You Had Just Six Months To Live?

That’s a deep-thinker, ain’t it?

This is what my old friend Mark McClure is asking on his latest post Perfection In Such An Average Day, and it got me thinking too; what would I do?

It brought me back to a time, not too long ago, when I was asking myself this very question. It was when I discovered I had cancer. It hit me like a pool-ball in a sock.

Cathartic moments, like this, bring perspective to what we do everyday.

At the time, when I asked myself this, I thought of…

• My family
• My friends
• My work
• My self-worth
• My achievements
• My legacy

After a while thinking, I realised something – it was all about ME. Am I selfish? Do I lead my everyday life thinking only about my own interests?

To be honest, I had to answer YES. But then I realised something else:

The last thing I thought of was about my possessions; my house and car; my vendettas (people who had wronged me); my petty worries.

The prospect of imminent death brought what was really important into focus.

Yowza! I thought.

We all face death everyday – but we don’t think about it. At any point in time, some accident or illness could take us away, so why don’t we lead our lives with this perspective?

Live And Work Each Day Like It’s Our Last?

Will I? Will you? It’s worth thinking about. We can all decide to focus on what’s really important and live our lives in achieving our most important goals.

When we turn up to work each day, we can look at our work, our managers, colleagues and friends and make a conscious decision to dispense with the petty arguments, and petty tasks, and to do what is most important to us.

If your job doesn’t allow you to do that, then get another job. If you’re in a role that is causing you stress, anxiety and to doubt your self-worth, then ask for a different role.

Even though these are extreme actions, and there are potentially extreme consequences, does it mean that we shouldn’t do them anyway? Tomorrow may be your last day, after all.

Well I can only speak for myself – and it’s what I am going to do!