A Life of Consequence

I've been debating, internally, about what it means to live a life of consequence. By "live a life of consequence" I mean that I want to be able to use the time that I have to do things that have gravitas and staying power in my world. I don't want to get to the end and regret how I chose to live my life. 

We only get one shot at this.

That truth is, if I'm honest with myself, really at the heart of this internal debate. I've got one shot to live my life and I'm already 30 years into it. Have I mentioned that I have a child now too? 

Hopefully I've got a lot of time left on this planet and if the bible is right, I've got eternity with God after this which should be nice. I don't think, however, that eternity with God should lessen my desire to use my time here meaningfully. If this place and these people didn't matter, he wouldn't put us here. That's the theory I'm working with.

If my theory is correct then the next logical step is to ask, "What are meaningful ways to spend my time? And how can I do more of those things?"

My preliminary thoughts on what are meaningful ways to spend my time include:

• bonding with friends and family
• loving my wife and child and making memories with them
• working hard
• seeing the world and it's people and learning from them
• giving what I have to those in need

That's my list so far. Not surprisingly every single item on that list is about other people, even the one about work, if you think about it. 

It is the answer to the second part of that question that I'm struggling with the most: "How can I do more of those things?" Figuring that out is my next internal debate.