What are you doing with your life?

I was crushed when I heard about the Paris attacks. My heart and mind go out for everyone affected. Ugh. For those who’ve been following awhile, you may know that I lived and worked in Paris for a few years. It’s a place I’m still deeply connected with … close friends, regular vacations and visits, deep memories, and a place whose community we will always belong.

When tragedies like these happen, there is the horror. But we also find moments of reflection, of empathy, and gratitude for what we DO have, even amidst the loss. In particular these kind of events can also serve as wake up calls for life…what are the things we’re supposed to be doing in life. How should we “be” in the world? How can we love more…love ourselves and love one another? Certainly over the years tragedies like this and others have made me think more intentionally about how I’m living. For, as cliché as the saying goes, we only have this one life. What are you doing with yours?

And it’s exactly that sentiment that I rant about in this episode of #cjRAW. No photo shoots, no entrepreneurial secrets. Instead, I get personal and break down how I think about living with intention in the way we want to be in this world. For me, it comes down to three things:

Doing

I deeply believe that life is very much what you make it…moreover…what we actually DO every day. So through tiny steps of “doing” every day, we’re creating our life and a legacy. Are you doing the things you want to DO in the world? There is always something we can do right now that can move the needle that next small step toward our goals. If you’re not sure what you want to do or what your goals are, then take the time to figure it out by doing a lot of things and then following the ones that speak to you. Try the perfect day exercise Lewis Howes and I chat about in episode 08.

Being

If the “doing” part is action, then “being” is how you “are” or rather how you hold yourself as you move through. What’s in your head? Are you emotionally moving through life the way you want? Are you peaceful? Are you present and literally being in the moment even when things get hard? I believe it and science supports me – happiness is directly proportional to your mental state. If you’re not happy in your mental state, what are you doing to help inform it? For me, I’ve already ranted on this blog and other #cjRAW’s that meditation has had a profound effect on my mental state and give me a new perspective about how I want to be in the world. There’s a certain sort of calmness. I’m not aiming to be presecriptive, but I AM suggesting that you do things that cultivate you “being” in the world as you want to be. I’ve talked about this & other things in my morning routine episode about how I get ready for the day.

Loving

Love is everything. In order to be your best, you have to take care of yourself first and foremost. It’s important to love yourself and be okay with making mistakes. To be vulnerable, to radically accept ourselves and one another. For, after all, we’re all human. If you’re taking care of yourself emotionally & physically, you’ll have increased capability to love & give to others. Again, love is everything. Yet another way to think about love is this… Do you love who you are? Who you have become? What you’re doing? If not, you can change those things.

Thanks for taking a ride with me in this video today. Again, my heart and the hearts of so many others I know go out to Paris and all those affected. In the face of tragedy, it’s always difficult to think about what we can do, or how we can be. We don’t always need the answers, but we should hope we can ask ourselves the right questions on reflection. Let me/this community know in the comments what you thought about this episode…here or Youtube or Facebook or wherever it convenient for sharing.

Love.