Do you live for your Resume or your Eulogy?

While being confined to my couch recuperating from foot surgery and to stop myself from going completely nuts, I have been spending time watching TED Talks on many different topics. I found one by David Brooks, called Should you live for your resume....or your eulogy?

So here is my question, which do you live for? your career or your life? I guess it can be looked at as both. People build their careers to provide for their families which is the norm, but do we ever get to a point where that becomes not enough and suddenly we wonder is there more to life than 40, 50, 60, 80 hours a week in an office? Or are we so scared that with out our careers we don't know who we are? Or is it when we have a sudden life changing scare that we start to think deeper than just our careers? So many questions, the answers to them are within ourselves. Only the individual can answer the questions that are relevant to their lives.

I would like it if people who were at my funeral to know that I loved them deeply, was true to myself, loyal to my friends, a role model to my children and others around me. For people to remember me for my stubbornness in away of being positive, standing up for what I believed in, and I guess the most important one is to be able to leave this life with no regrets. I don't want to be in my last days and saying "only if..." I understand why people have a bucket list, but everyday we should be able to cross of something from that bucket list whether it be a big event, or the smallest one.

I am currently writing a book about my Eating Disorder and my Recovery, I don't expect it to be best seller, but I do hope that if one person was to read it and it touched them in a way to start their recovery journey then it has made a difference. Going through and dealing with a mental illness everyday is a challenge with in itself, but to be able to understand and know that you are a stronger person as you go through each day is huge. Not to be known for your mental illness but to be seen as a healthy, lively and yes stubborn individual makes me happy. Stubbornness can be seen as both a positive and a negative and I guess it is in the way you use your stubbornness to which way it goes on the spectrum. For me I used it originally in the negative aspect with my eating disorder and the many tantrums I have had with regards to eating have been huge. Though as I have learnt and come to understand my triggers for my eating disorder and how to deal with them on the positive my stubbornness is more to do with my love for endurance sports. You have to have a stubborn streak in you I think to be able to push your body to its limits at times and know that some events you do will either make you or break you. Its that stubborn streak in you that will keep you coming back, even if you don't make it the first time, you will come back until you conquer the goal.

Ok lets get back to the Resume or Eulogy part. You can build the most amazing Resume, you can have the most amazing career, but is that a surface happiness or is that a happiness that is felt from deep within your heart. Now I am not sayig that people out there whole heartedly love their careers/jobs and that is great, I can say that I do love my job, its not a career for me but its my job. I get to meet people, help people and yes taste some amazing wines and spirits. I also get to deal with idiots, arrogant people, those who think they know more than they do. So yes a very diverse business that I work in, but my job is not my life. Though I think some people around me might think otherwise. I believe my life to be multi-faceted and that gives me paths on my life's journey that keeps life interesting and fulfilling.

Below is the dictionary definitions of Career, Job and Eulogy. Out of the first two which do you have?

Career:
an occupation or profession, especially one requiring special training,followed as one's 
lifework:

Job:
a piece of work, especially a specific task done as part of the routine of one's
occupation or for an agreed price:

Eulogy:
a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially a set oration in honor of a
deceased person.

As morbid as this might sound, but an interesting experiment, have you ever thought of putting yourself (figuratively) in the thought of your own funeral and writing your own eulogy? I have strangely enough a few times. I guess for me who has a tendency to think maybe a little to much its not that scary to do anymore, but had given me insight to where I am on my life's path. Its interesting to see in your own words what you would think people or yourself would say, positive and the negatives, and just maybe these are some hints for you from the universe to where you are along your life's journey.

Take the time to enjoy your journey and if you don't like it you can change it.

Hayley xx