What IF this was your last year?

There are a variety of colorful theories floating around about what 2012 might bring, some of which suggest the world will cease to exist. Certainly, if you believe any of those theories to be true, you are now facing what will be your last hurrah here on the planet. However, if you are among the skeptical, who think we’ll all still be kicking around this big, blue marble in 2013 and for many decades to come, it is still a novel experiment to spend some time thinking about what you would do if your time here was suddenly limited to another month or another year.

What would you choose?

If you knew you only had another year to experience all there was to experience, what would you do? Where would you go? With whom would you choose to spend your time? What unsaid things would you take the time to say? Anyone you need to forgive? Something you want to see? A food you want to try? An adventure you’d like to take? Someone you’d want to see one last time? A secret you’d like to divulge? A lie you’d like to retract? An apology that needs to be given? An activity you’ve always wanted to try? A dream you’d want to see fulfilled? Something that needs done that you’ve just been waiting for the “right time” to do?

What’s on your list?

I encourage you now to grab any old scrap of paper and something to write with and jot down some answers to the questions above. Just thinking about them keeps them in the realm of the abstract. Putting them down on paper makes your system take notice of them and makes them more real. This doesn’t mean you’re going to act on all of them, or any of them, it just helps bring issues into focus for you so that in case we’re all still around next year, you have a clear picture of what’s really essential.

As you look through your list, there are certainly some things that would be best left undone, particularly if the world doesn’t end. Telling your current boss that you think he’s a blockhead might not be a great idea if you’ll still need to be working in 2014. A surprise visit to an old boyfriend could have a devastating effect on your current marriage.

Trying skydiving might be too risky an endeavor for a parent of three to attempt if the world isn’t actually coming to a close.

However, even as you look at the items on your list that should not be attempted, it still gives you some clarity about your wants, your needs, your desires, your goals, your hopes, your dreams. Things that get forgotten during the monotony of day-to-day living. To remind yourself that your boss really is a blockhead can remind you to spend some time looking for another job. To have that yearning for the fire of a youthful relationship may spark up some romance in the one you’ve got, and to be aware that you still have dreams of doing thrilling things may cause you to try some of the safer adventures you’ve been putting off. Maybe you won’t actually sky-dive, but perhaps you’ll take a helicopter ride or try zip-lining if those seem less risky.

In any case, as the New Year approaches, take a moment and ask yourself what you’d like to be different about next year, in the event that it happens to be your last. Then do that every year for the rest of your life. The results might just amaze you.