How to Make Meaningful Life Choices

Dear Coach,

As I return to Marco Island this fall, after being away during the summer, it feels like a new start. COVID took such a big bite out of my life and now I’m wondering how to resume.

Rather than jump back into the same activities I had pre-pandemic, I want to carefully evaluate what is truly meaningful to me. I’m retired so I have the flexibility to make these choices.

Any suggestions on how to evaluate my priorities?

Signed,

What’s Next

Dear Next,

Funny you should ask. I feel exactly the same. I returned to Marco Island this month after being away since mid-May. It seems so long since my life here was “normal.” Will it be normal now?

For me, one of the challenges of this ongoing pandemic is the constant uncertainty. Which meetings and events will be in-person? Is it safe to congregate indoors with new variants popping up? So many things to consider, even for those of us who are vaccinated.

Putting the uncertainty aside, I’ve started a checklist to help me decide what to put back into my life (when it becomes available) and what to eliminate. After many months of staying at home, I learned that I don’t want or need the busy-ness of my past life.

Here are my suggestions on how to prioritize:

1. Listen to your intuition.

In the past when you’ve attended meetings or participated in events, did you feel some inner angst? Author and activist, Parker Palmer, writes, “Before I can tell my life what I want to do with it, I must listen to my life telling me who I am.”

Let your “gut” feelings guide you.

2.  Check in with your values.

Do your activities/memberships line up with your values? Ask yourself, “Is this who I really am? Is this who I want to be?”

Your calendar shouldn’t be something that stresses you out. What you have scheduled (with the exception of that dental appointment) should bring you a sense of anticipation and joy. If it doesn’t, change it.

3. Choose things that matter.

Greg McKeown, author, writes, “If it’s not a clear ‘yes,’ then it’s a clear ‘no’.” He also writes, “If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”

Ever notice when you don’t have clarity about what you want to do, who you want to be, or how you want to make a difference, someone swoops in and answers those questions for you as they nudge you into their own agenda?

Choose, don’t default.

4. Joy matters.

Two points on my list include: more time for lunch with girlfriends and develop more couple relationships. Sometimes, making a difference means being a friend and cultivating a joyful spirit. Both take time.

As a seventy-six-year-old, I’m increasingly aware that I only have so many days left on earth. I want to spend them on things that matter to me. It sounds like you do, too.

What’s on your list?