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The end of another year is near. The anticipation of Advent has birthed another Christmas. Now a tired 2011 limps to an end.
Year End Review
For some people, New Year’s festivities are on the horizon. For me, it’s review time. What about this year called 2011 really mattered? The answer depends on your personal definition of “mattered.” I’ll define “mattered” as something that was meaningful. It may only be momentary, but if you can attach significant meaning to the act or event, then I’ll say it mattered.
Minutes Matter
The year 2011 can be divided into 525,600 minutes. Each minute had the potential to be a meaningful moment that mattered. But how many minutes achieved even memorable status? Far fewer rose to the level of mattering, it seems.
Think for a few of these last remaining minutes of 2011. Which of its minutes mattered most to you and why? Will they still matter to you in 2015? How about in 2020?
Look through your planner or online calendar. Read your journal or blog if you wrote one. Scroll through your social media posts. It’s almost tax prep time, so review how you spent and invested your money. How did you use your minutes? Sift through your records like an archaeologist searching for glimpses of meaning.
Hidden Meaning
What you may never know is how some of your actions had meaningful ripple effects that mattered greatly to others. A smile to a lonely stranger. A note of genuine appreciation to a co-worker. A morning ritual of a wake-up hug and kiss for your kids. Showing up at church on Sundays when you really wanted to stay in bed. A random act of kindness because you needed a pick-me-up. They all can matter.
You never know for certain which of a year’s 525,600 minutes will really matter. Some might argue that all of them do, while others might say that none of them do. I fall somewhere in the middle and hope that more of my minutes mattered than did not. I accept that I have no real way of knowing for sure how many really mattered. But does that fact really matter? Time will tell.
It’s a Matter of Seeing
Perhaps what really matters most is that we stay open to looking for glimpses of what matters in our lives and in the lives of other people. What we recognize and remember, we can potentially repeat.
You Matter, No Matter What
The way you live your life does matter, more than we may ever know. Let’s try not to sleepwalk through another 525,600 minutes, and instead notice what matters to us and how we might have mattered to others, just by being who we were born to be.
I hope that we both collect some meaningful memories that really matter in 2012.
Happy New Year!
Ready to fire up your work and your life? I’m an executive coach from Indianapolis, and I work one-on-one with executives and managers, in person for local clients or via Zoom. If this post raised a question about your work or your next step, we should talk. The first discovery call is free and confidential. Book your discovery call, or call or text me at 317-643-0058, Monday through Friday, 9 to 5.
