24 Apr What’s Your Story: What’s The Most Important Minute Of Your Life?
Hi again. Thanks for your interest in the “What’s Your Story?” blog series. So far, we’ve briefly explored some interesting topics: two wolves that live in our hearts, five regrets of the dying, and the three key ways people go through life: as a Navigator, a Survivor, or a Victim. These blogs set the stage for the central theme of this series: Navigation. Navigation entails living an extraordinary life of success, accomplishment, and satisfaction. This is what my work is about, both in my clinical practice and in my life coaching; and I hope I can add value to your life as well.
Today, I have a question for you: What’s the most important minute of your life? Take a second to really think about it and what you consider that important minute to be …
- Is it the first minute of your life?
- Is it your first kiss?
- Is it the minute you said “I do” at your wedding?
- Is it the birth of a child?
- Is it the minute when a parent died?
- Is it when you chose a bad direction and created pain for yourself or someone you cared about?
- Is it, perhaps, the minute you realized you were financially on-track for retirement?
- Might it be the last minute of your life, when you confront the five regrets of your life?
While all of these, along with many others, are very powerful moments in life, both past and future, I believe none of them really represent the most significant minute of your life. We may remember some of these things fondly, or painfully and with regret, but they are just that: memories. Others are hopes we have for a distant future. These hopes and memories are genuine and powerful, and they help shape who we are, but they do not represent reality. They are essentially illusory dreams; they no longer exist in our present experience. I propose to you that the most important minute in your life is the one you are experiencing right now. And if you pay attention to a minute’s worth of experience as you experience it, you might gain powerful insight into how your life is going: past, present, and future.
As you experience the present moment, pay attention to what’s going on inside you. Through what lens are you experiencing this moment?
- As the wolf of love & compassion?
- As the wolf of anxiety & anger?
- Regret?
- With the anticipation and openness of the Navigator?
- With the annoyance and frustration of the Survivor?
- With the sadness and pathos of the Victim?
- With a sense of courage and engagement, letting go of the rigid attachment to how things should turn out?
- With fear and the anxiety that life is throwing more shit at you than you can handle?
Whatever happens in this minute, and in the next one, will be determined by your own personal filter and internal navigation system. Even more important than what happens in this little minute of time is how you choose to experience it. Most of you might not even think you have a choice. Well then, guess what: that will be the next minute of your life, a moment you experience without conscious choice or autonomy – the moment simply happen to you, and you will react to it subconsciously through your default filter. Instead, make a choice. Choose a positive filter and make your next minute count!
I’m curious about what you think. Let me know. It will just take a minute of your time!
If you’re interested in learning more about Moss Jackson’s therapy or coaching, contact him at center11@verizon.net or at 610.642.4873, ext 23. You can also read about it in his book “Navigating For Success.”