This time last year, my dad didn’t know he only had a little more than three months to live. Going through my phone the other day, I found a picture of him from last April. He was already impossibly frail, but it had happened so slowly we gradually got used to it. Three months. I wonder what he would have done differently if he knew. I wonder what all of us would have done differently. We have a pretty good idea of when we will be born, but we can’t know when we will pass. Would you want to know the exact date? How would that knowledge influence your life and your actions?  

Certainly, you’ve heard the term that you should “live like you were dying,” but we are always so busy with the business of living that this sentiment becomes something we will think about, and attend to, later. On that April day, as my camera caught my dad off-guard, his gaze on my mother, he didn’t know his later had arrived. He had had so many health issues and always bounced back, he figured this one was just another temporary setback.

When will your “later” arrive? When will mine? What are you saving for that time? I suggest to you that you let your “later” be now. You show up fully in every relationship important to you. You are the first one to reach out with love and kindness. You decide you won’t waste time on people and things that give you stress. You understand what is most important to you, and you cultivate that every day. You realize that this moment, this day, is entirely unique and precious and noteworthy, just because it is.

This, my friends, is living with intention. We must intend to design a life focused on the values dear to us. Not the money. Not the job. Not the status. The values. What are your values? How can you uphold them with grace and enthusiasm? How can you rest your head each night with satisfaction, joy and love?

Think hard. What do you intend to do that you’re saving for later? Later is now. Later is knocking on the door. Let it be the persuasion you need to resist the temptation to languish in this life. Positive psychology tells us that we can each thrive and flourish in our own way, in our own time, and in every one of our lives.

When I first heard the term “thrive and flourish” while reading a positive psychology course book, I thought, “I love that! I want to thrive for sure!” And really, who ever taught you to thrive? Who ever said, “Let’s figure out how you can thrive and flourish and have more joy every day?” Well, if no one ever has (and I doubt they have!) I’m saying it now! Let’s figure it out together.

I literally don’t want to wait until I know that date when my time is done. I want to live like I’m dying now. I’m hoping you’ll join me. We can start by understanding how to live with intention, how to thrive and flourish, and how to find more joy every day.

Change is inevitable in life. Some changes are expected as part of the human experience, however, some changes show up in poorly wrapped boxes and can throw us for a loop.

Oftentimes when something unexpected has suddenly happened, our initial reaction is to panic and resist the change that has taken place. This is a natural reaction.

Studies show that we are hard wired to resist change. Our bodies and our minds like keeping things the same. Maintaining a state of equilibrium known as Homeostasis helps our bodies to maintain a normal body temperature, metabolism, weight and other functions that are necessary for our survival. Mentally, we like things to stay the same because we fear what we don’t know, and are intuitively afraid of the consequences of both failure and success.

How we approach change can make all the difference in our mind as well as in our body. Having a positive attitude as we transition throughout change is so important. So how do we do that?

We can start by choosing to see unexpected change as something that makes life far more exciting. Just imagine if you went through your entire life without anything changing. How boring would life be? I know for me, I tend to dream of how great it would be to relax on the beach everyday, but I know from experience, when I’m on vacation doing just that, by the end of the week, I’m craving change.

Next we can create a vision for the life we want. Ask yourself:

• How could these changes be beneficial?
• What possible opportunities might they unleash?
• How will I respond to these changes when they happen?
• How will I take advantage of these opportunities?

And finally we can develop a plan of action to help us move forward toward the changes we would like to have in our life. Ask yourself:

• How must I begin to think about this change?
• What must I believe about this change for it to be successful?
• What habits must I potentially develop to make this change work for me?
• What habits would I need to eliminate to help avoid sabotaging my own progress?

Once you have an action plan in place, start taking steps towards your desired future.