I like making plans. And my biggest drive behind making plans is that I absolutely do not like to waste time and energy. Why is that? Because life is the most precious gift that I have. I am so grateful to be alive, to have a functioning mind and body, and all the other things that I am blessed with.
You’ve heard me say many times before that life is not short—it is finite. And death is the greatest impetus for leading a happier life. Life is ever ebbing away, and when we realize this, we realize how precious life is.
Life is the most precious gift we all have, yet many fail to realize this. What a gift it is to be alive. When we truly realize this, it creates a permanent shift in our mindset—how we view life itself, ourselves, others, and the world around us.
The most noticeable transformation is seen in our behavior. Our desires and goals begin to change. How we act and react to life changes. The focus shifts from outward to inward—not in a selfish way, but in a way that seeks to become a better version of oneself. And in the process of elevating our own life, we naturally uplift the lives of those around us, both subtly and visibly.
Creating a plan for life is, more than anything else, about defining a destination—and clearly articulating the guardrails and practices that will keep us on the path to that destination. Imagine driving to the mountains for a weekend skiing trip. The four-hour journey requires you to know exactly where you’re going, stay on the highway, drive within the white lines, and remain inside the speed limit so you don’t get pulled over. This allows you to enjoy the drive and arrive safely at your destination—because without these, you would never make it to where you’re going.
The ski lodge is the destination; the white lines are the guardrails that keep you from driving off the cliff. The speed limit is the practice, and the highway is the path. Life should be no different. The more clearly we define these things, the more we can live a happier life.
When life is going smoothly, it’s easier to feel happy. When it’s not, we experience emotions that are less uplifting—frustration, fear, worry, and more. These often lead to equally unhelpful states of mind: confusion, distraction, feeling frazzled, and so on.
A life plan creates a framework that helps keep awareness in a higher state of mind, with energy harnessed, contained, and channeled toward what truly matters. The result? We live more in line with our priorities—the people and things that matter most to us—and because we do this, we feel happier, more content, and experience a deeper sense of fulfillment.
Life is too precious to waste on what doesn’t matter. Most people never do the work to figure this out early in life. And when you lack clarity, you live at the mercy of the world around you. One only has to look at the past to see all the directions they were pulled in—not by choice, but by a lack of clarity. Anything we do that isn’t aligned with our purpose and priorities ultimately does not make us happier.
My counsel: Front-end the work.
Do it now. As my guru says, the rewards are far greater than the efforts put into it. You’ll have to face yourself—to discover things about you, both pleasant and unpleasant. And this, whether people are conscious of it or not, is the greatest hurdle to doing the work. It terrifies many to look within themselves. So they continue, year after year, to immerse themselves in all that the world has to offer—a path with no end, riddled with countless twists and turns but fascinating enough to keep you on it despite all its drama.
And most, weary from the wandering, sigh and say, “That’s life.” No—it’s not.
