Out of the Box that Life Built

Bronnie Ware is a brave woman. After spending years as a palliative (hospice) nurse, she authored an article, and later a book, entitled The Top Five Regrets of the Dying - A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing. In this body of work, Bronnie lists and reviews her conversations with patients whose mortality have forced them to look back and reflect on their lives.  

Cumulatively, here is their number one regret: **I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

**Wow.

So, why do we spend so much time living up to the expectations of others? I have asked myself this question my entire life. And, until last year, I never had an answer. Now, I do: I’m not sure why, but I won’t spend one minute longer. Life is short!

As a generation, I believe Millennials feel a universal pull to break out of this mold that’s held us captive for so many generations. Professionally, it can be described in three words: living to work.

Millennials are often berated for desiring flex time, to work remotely, and support for our educational endeavors. But why scold us? Such requests are merely our attempt to get out of this box that life has built. The box that says workaholism is a badge of honor. The box that says embark upon the pursuit of what others see as success instead of our own view of success. The box that calls us to stagnate and hover around the line of best fit instead of living above the line and creating a new normal of extraordinary. What’s wrong with that again?

Bronnie goes on to say: Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made—or not made.

It probably seems really foolish in retrospect. And quite frankly, I never want to find out.

So today, I ask my fellow Millenials to honor your dreams. Create a new normal of extraordinary no matter your generation. Change your professional life’s mantra into these three words: work to live. This doesn’t mean stop giving your best; it simply means that life is about more than just work. Knowing this actually helps you achieve better work results.

Moral of the Story: You are not a human doing, you are a human being. Embrace that truth.

It’s never too late to live a life true to yourself until you’re one of Bronnie’s patients. Don’t wait that long. Your life is now.