…you had a million dollars or so in savings, and you already paid off all your debts? Stop and think about this a moment before you read more. What pops into your head? Are you sipping your favorite beverage on the beach? Have you purchased that big toy you always wanted? Did you think of things or activities or both?
What is stopping you from doing some of those things now? You probably have a whole list of perfectly good reasons popping into your head. Consider being unreasonable. Also consider that a lot of the research on happiness shows that things do not bring us happiness. Sure, we may feel really good for a little while but then we just get used to having that thing and possibly we even want some thing that is even better. Of course, some things make our lives easier and bring us much pleasure; it is just important to understand that they may not bring us lasting happiness (See my prior post on increasing your ratio for happiness linked here).
Read the title question again and finish it with, “you were told you have only 6 months to live.” What would you do now? You may still see yourself doing some of the same things, possibly using some of your retirement savings for that big toy you’ve been putting off or going on that big overseas trip that you have always dreamt about.
These questions are helpful to ponder to assure we stay on track with our internal GPS to fulfill our bigger destination and don’t wonder off on a detour that leads us to the lands of frustration and disappointment (where the state bird is the pigeon).
Recently, the question about having a million dollars came up in a facilitation/coaching activity of mine and it reminded me of a value that I had put aside. I am energized and fulfilled by volunteering and have drifted away from doing any volunteer activity. “If I had a million dollars I would volunteer more” popped in my head and then I was embarrassed to realize that the accurate statement is to volunteer period (not more as I am doing none at the moment).
What say you? Please share in a comment.
photo credits: AMagill, Cobalt123