Let’s Play Desert Island
“There aren’t enough hours in the day!” Have you ever thought or said this to yourself? We are pulled in so many different directions: family, careers, household chores, travel, social media, and technology in general. Where does this constant pull leave us? Well, most likely, it leaves us frazzled in the middle with a sinking feeling and no hope of getting ahead of it all! But I have good news for you! It doesn’t have to be like this forever. In fact, you can start making adjustments today.
I have a quick exercise for you. If you haven’t played it before, you’ve probably at least heard of “Desert Island”. It’s a game where you imagine you have been shipwrecked on an island with no Internet or method of communication with the world. For this exercise, you are allowed to bring only three objects that you believe represent who you are (let’s make phones and devices off limits). This excludes people too, so you can either imagine people coming with you or you can imagine you are alone on the island. The focus is more on the things your in life and less about the people in your life. Think about it for a moment and either make a mental note or jot down your three items. This could be anything: a book, a certain food, something of sentimental value, etc. Get creative.
Okay. So now that you have your three items, let’s look closer. What do those specific items say about you? Without even knowing what your items are, I can tell you this … they represent what you value most in life. Is this an accurate representation? Do you agree, or do you want to argue your case of why you value something not represented in your three items more? What’s the point of this exercise anyway? It’s to give you a picture of where you place your greatest value in life.
If we can uncover what we value, we can tap into a wealth of power and energy as we strategically focus our time, money, and effort. Practicing a lifestyle of supporting our core values will allow us to live a life of purpose and fulfillment. Once we nail down what truly matters in life, it will be easier to shut down the distractions (a.k.a. The less valuable things) that vie for our attention on a daily basis.
Today, I want you to consider this list. Is it accurate? Is there anything you want to change? What can you do in your daily life to reflect the values in life you truly want to embody? Now take a step towards that!