Simple Thoughts Sunday: What are your non-negotiables?

What brings you to full life? As in vitality, thriving and growing?

There is a business phrase we use a lot, “what is the minimally viable product/service (aka MVP) at this point in time?” That got me thinking: We all have to know what this is for us in our personal lives as well. What are we not willing to settle for? What are the minimum requirements we have put in place? Our personal non-negotiables…

• Eight hours of sleep every night? Is that even possible? (Shout out to folks in my age range who just may be living through a season of sleeplessness… hormones and all of that jazz!)
• Daily movement? What does that look like? Walking the dog? A 20-minute walk each day? (My latest is a 2-mile morning walk. I remember my grandparents did a 2-mile walk each day and that seems wise.)
• Connection with friends or family? Calling mom or dad if you are lucky enough to have them still once a week or…?

Others streaming to the top of my mind…

• Being rooted in my faith
• Being mindful of saving enough for retirement
• Being as healthy as possible so that I can hike, play, etc. with my future grandchildren.
• Ensuring I have an activity creativity outlet – writing, sculpting etc.
• Curating my schedule to allow for “white space” for my reading or doing nothing at all…

What are yours?

I read an article this week about how short life is. This one, by Robin Sharma, talked about how, at roughly 50 years old, you have about 25 Christmas’s left. That’s 25 opportunities to sit around the table with loved ones, 25 more Valentine’s Days to dote on your special love(s), 25 more 4th of Julys to watch the sky light up in celebration. Heck, we have more than 25 days in a single month and that doesn’t seem at all enough time to look in the eyes of those I hold near and dear.

Regardless of what time we think we have left in this world, each day is a gift and we have the power to outline our non-negotiables and act on them daily. There is proven strength in writing down our goals and so I hope some of you may find this a worthy exercise this week. There is no better time than the present to call out to the world the beautiful life you desire.