Do you feel like time is flying and the days are just whizzing by? Does it shock you every now and then when you  look at a calendar and it hits you just how far into the year we are?

The year is nearly 75% gone; what do you have to show for it? Do you have a wish list? And if so, is it still relevant for you today? Does it really reflect what you want out of life?

Just making a wish list is a powerful step forward. However, actually planning and accomplishing something is the ultimate goal. After all, this is your life. And you only get one chance at it.

I have had a Lifetime To-Do List for nearly 20 years. It grows and changes as I add new desires and delights onto it, and as I enthusiastically mark completed items with a colorful highlighter. As a writer, I also like to make a small journal entry (sometimes a longer entry!) about the experience and what I’ve learned, how I enjoyed the experience, and so forth.

It’s now 5 years since the attacks made on September 11, 2001. It’s a day all of us will remember . . . and it’s a day that has changed us forever. A tragedy of that magnitude often inspires people to change their habits and their views. At some deeper level, a disaster like that helps us realize just how precious time is. For some, it propels them to change their lifestyle, to commit to an existence of more intentional living.

Many of you have probably already heard about the 9/ll victim, Ann Nelson. She was a vivacious, young adult who had high energy and a zest for life. Recently, her mother found a document on her deceased daughter’s laptop labled, “Top 100.” When she looked at it, she realized it was her daughter’s Top 100 goals she wanted in her life. Ann had managed to identify 36 items before her life was cut short so tragically. How wonderfully inspiring it is that her mother has shared her story with the rest of us. CBS News has printed a copy of the Nelson’s story on their website.

What an insightful young woman Ann Nelson must have been! How many young adults have even begun to fully realize how rich life is  - and how quickly it slips away?

The first ten items on Ann’s list were: 

1. be healthy/healthful
2. be a good friend
3. keep secrets
4. keep in touch with people I love and that love me
5. make a quilt
6. Nepal
7. buy a home in north Dakota
8. get a graduate degree
9. learn a foreign language
10. kilamajaroo

What are your Top 10 items? Why not get your day planner out (OK, come on, we all carry them in one format or another!) and schedule in a block of time sometime this week. Make a date with yourself and begin to map out your dreams.

We all have the same amount of seconds in a minute, the same number of minutes in an hour. And the same number of hours in  day. How do you choose to spend it?

The clock keeps ticking, no matter what we’re doing. So let’s make a conscious choice to live those seconds, those minutes, hours and days, honorably, fully and delightully!

If you want to start a Lifetime To-Do List and need some help getting started, contact me and I’ll be happy to share some ideas. But I’m just betting you’ve got all the answers right there with you – in your heart!

Have a Golden Week!

Coach Darlene