Listen well, younger reader, because life comes at you fast. Set aside the noise of the world for a moment. Pay attention, older reader, because time gets more precious every day.
Three gifts are in your possession at all times. They are more valuable than all other possessions combined. You can’t see them, but they’re always with you. You can’t hold them, but they’re yours to use as you decide. No dictator can steal them from you, no fool can waste them for you. They are yours until death.
The three gifts are your attention, your time, and your energy.
From these three resources flow your entire existence. Your life goes according to how you use them. The quality of your life — in both product and experience — aligns with how well you use them. They explain much of your past. They will explain most of your future.
Chisel this onto your heart: the life you build, whether you climb intimidating peaks or tend humble gardens, you carve from the marble of your attention, time, and energy.
- Where do you direct your attention, and where do you withhold it?
- How do you use the time you have, and for what purpose?
- What is the character of your energy, and to what target is it aimed?
I gave you three reflection questions on Monday. These are three more. The answers to these questions are largely your destiny. That’s not hyperbole. It’s timeless truth packaged in simplicity.
Protect your gifts, whether you are younger, older, or somewhere in between. Guide these resources, don’t squander them. Use your attention to focus on what matters and ignore the rest. Use your time as if your life were running out because it is. Steer your energy toward what serves your life.
This is the way to the good life: not by waiting to receive something from the outside but by recognizing the gifts already within you. Moment by moment, you use the resources of attention, time, and energy to move your life forward. Wise use will lead to beautiful experiences.
Brick by brick. Do the work.
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