By: O.L./Sway Buckley
Something about birthdays causes me to reflect and think deeply about the years prior. I think back over the previous twelve months and assess if things went as well as they could've.
Birthdays are my time to audit my progress in life. As you can imagine, the older I get, the more unsettling certain aspects become.
Questions like, is my health as good as it could be? Are my relationships showing a good pattern of investing? Is my spiritual walk consistent with my confession?
I could continue, and I still need to answer these questions to my liking. This year was different.
I started to ask myself, am I asking the right questions? Sometimes the problem isn't the answer but the questions themselves.
Four questions can help us (especially men) audit this phase of life and crystalize what matters.
First question: What motivates me and this point in life?
However, answering this question reveals where we draw value and our sense of accountability. As a believer, I'm convinced that my ultimate accountability is to God, and that sets the tone for how I choose to function in all other relationships.
Second question: Do I traffic in a community of people who challenge my sense of well-being?
You've heard the proverb, 'It takes a village to raise a child.' If raising is synonymous with maturing, then we as men (all adults) require a village to help us grow.
A village needs different people with different giftings who contribute to our development as a shared value.
Third question: Am I stewarding my time well? We live in a nation that prizes productivity; the problem is this frame's life quantitatively. Somebody, should life first be framed qualitatively-so the foremost question is, am I stewarding this situation well?
Fourth question: If today were my last, could I be proud of how I lived it? A clear conscience before knowing I would meet my creator after my eyes close is the greatest truth one could have.
My clarified aim is to live each year with a sense of eternal purpose, historical impact, and relational humility. It only took one day (my birthday) to slow down and ponder this. Now I can live with greater clarity.
If you're looking for insights on building out your legacy with systems that help keep you two working powerfully in sync and spending more time in your areas of gifting, schedule a free success mapping call with us here.
Here's to living purposefully, powerfully, and profitably in sync,
O.L. & Sway
O.L. is a former banker turned real estate consultant and entrepreneur. Sway is a former CEO of a staffing firm she started on her dorm room floor to pay for college. Together they co-own Marriedpreneur Life Consultancy, equipping faith-based married entrepreneur couples with high-level systems to scale (without strain). They're the creators of the Marriedpreneur Operating Systems and the co-hosts of The Marriedprenuer Life Podcast, which was praised as one of Wedding Wire's top relationship podcasts. Learn more at MarriedpreneurLife.com.