In 2005, when I was in my late thirties, I had a heart attack. In the month or so leading up to the heart attack, I was starting to exhibit the classic symptoms – pain radiating down the shoulders, achiness in my jaw and between my shoulder blades. But I didn’t know what they were.
On the night of the heart attack, I felt instantly sick to my stomach. I could tell that something wasn’t right. It wasn’t just the stomach flu or food poisoning. I remember being curled up on the floor of the bathroom wondering if this was it – if this was the end of my life.
I remember being really scared. I was too young. There were supposed to be a lot of years left for me to live. In that time, I didn’t have my life flash before my eyes. Instead, I just asked myself two really difficult and important questions:
- Did I love people well?
- Did my life matter?
The Questions Aren’t Just for Me
These are questions we should ask ourselves periodically throughout our life – not just at the end of our life. If we aren’t satisfied with our answers to these questions, then we probably aren’t living our calling.
When we live our calling, we will be creating experiences in our life that give great answers to these questions.
When we live our calling, we will be making a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Whether we’re into a cause such as helping inner city kids or we’re into being a great manager at work, we will be producing positive results in the lives of people we affect. We will be loving them, and loving them well.
We we live our calling, our life will matter because we will be influencing people’s lives for the better.
Ultimately, living our calling is about creating great answers to these two questions.
So, what about you? How would you answer these questions:
- Do I love people well?
- Does my life matter?
