SuccessNet

What Matters More Now?
A Simple Question for the Season You’re In

I came across an old list of goals recently.

Some had been completed. A few were still meaningful. Others were clearly no longer relevant.

And then there were several I had simply carried forward because they had once seemed important.

There they were, still quietly demanding attention.

It made me wonder:
How many of us are still pursuing goals that belong to an earlier version of ourselves?

We often treat unfinished goals as obligations. If we once wanted something badly, we feel we should still want it. If we told other people about it, we feel obligated to finish it. And if we invested time, money, or effort, letting go can feel like admitting defeat.

But sometimes a goal doesn’t need more discipline.
Sometimes it just needs an honest review.

A goal can be worthwhile and still no longer be yours.

Our responsibilities change. Our health changes. Relationships change. Opportunities change.

And we change.

What seemed essential ten years ago may now feel strangely distant. What once represented success may no longer look like the life we want to live.

That doesn’t mean the earlier goal was foolish. It may have been exactly right for the person you were then.

But the question isn’t only: What did I once want?
It’s also: What matters more now?

There’s an important difference between giving up and letting go.

Giving up says, “I couldn’t do it.”

Letting go may say, “I’ve learned enough to know this is no longer where I want to invest my life.”

Giving up can be avoidance.

Letting go can be wisdom. The same is true of ambition.

In one season, ambition may mean building a business, earning more money, or achieving recognition. In another, it may mean protecting your health, deepening a marriage, being available to family, sharing what you’ve learned, or creating something meaningful without needing it to become large.

The goal may not be to accomplish less.

It may be to accomplish what matters more.

So take another look at the goals, projects, and commitments occupying your attention. For each one, ask:

Do I still want this—or do I simply remember wanting it?

Does this belong to the life I’m living now?

If I were choosing today, would I choose it again?

You may recommit. You may revise the goal. You may pause it, delegate it, or let it go.

Sometimes the Next Right Step is another step toward the goal.
Sometimes it’s choosing again.

The point isn’t to abandon everything difficult. It’s to stop letting yesterday’s decisions make today’s choices for you.
That’s good life navigation.

Your life is precious. Your choices matter. And your time deserves to be invested in what’s true and meaningful now—not merely in what once appeared on a list.

That may mean fewer commitments—but deeper ones.

Less activity—but more meaning.

Fewer attempts to prove yourself—and more opportunities to express yourself.

So perhaps the better question isn’t: What should I still be trying to accomplish?

Perhaps it’s: What deserves my life now?

The answer can change. And so can you.

Make it great!
—Michael Angier

P.S. Questions about what shapes us, what matters most, and what we carry forward are woven throughout my new book, Weekends with Appa. It's a warm, entertaining, and heartfelt story about a grandfather, his grandson, and the treasures they discover together.

If you've ever wondered whether the goals you're pursuing still belong to the person you're becoming, I think you'll enjoy this story. I'll be sharing more about it soon.

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What Matters Most
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Pay Attention—This Is Your Life
The week in front of you may matter more than you think.

I was looking over my calendar recently and noticed something.

It didn’t look particularly important.

Appointments. Errands. Exercise. Writing time. A few phone calls. People to see. Things to take care of. Just another week.

And then it struck me: This isn’t just my schedule. This is my life.

We tend to think of our lives in terms of the big events. The wedding. The birth of a child. The new job. The big trip. The accomplishment. The loss. The turning point.

Those moments matter enormously. But they occupy surprisingly little space on the calendar.

Most of life happens on ordinary Tuesdays.

It happens over breakfast.
Driving somewhere we’ve driven a hundred times.
Sitting across from someone we love.
Playing tennis.
Talking with a child, grandchild, spouse, or friend.
Reading something that changes how we think.
Laughing about something completely unimportant.
Watching the sun go down.

The trouble is, ordinary moments rarely announce themselves as important.

There’s no little flag that pops up and says:
Pay attention. You’re going to miss this someday.

So we rush through them.

We multitask. We check our phones. We think about what’s next. We treat the present like a hallway we have to get through on our way to someplace more important.

But what if there isn’t someplace more important?

What if these ordinary days—the ones that don’t seem worthy of photographs or journal entries—are where most of a good life actually happens?

Years from now, some insignificant-looking entry on today’s calendar may represent a few hours you’d give almost anything to have back.

Lunch with someone who’s no longer here.
An afternoon with a grandchild who has since grown up.
A quiet evening at home before something changed.
A conversation you didn’t realize would become a memory.

Life doesn’t happen between the important events.

The space between them is life.

That doesn’t mean we should squeeze more productivity from every hour. Quite the opposite.

A full calendar doesn’t necessarily mean a full life.

Rest belongs there.
Play belongs there.
Conversation belongs there.

Thinking, wandering, laughing, learning, loving—and sometimes simply doing nothing—belong there too.

The better question isn’t whether our calendars are full.

It’s whether the life inside them reflects what we say matters most.

So sometime this week, take a quiet look at the next seven days.

And ask yourself: If weeks like this became my life, would I be pleased with the life they created?

No guilt. No judgment.

Just notice.

What deserves more room?
What deserves less?
Who deserves more of you?
What have you been postponing because you assume there will always be another week?

Then make one small change.

You don’t have to redesign your entire life.

Move one thing. Add one thing. Remove one thing. Protect one thing that matters.

Because our lives aren’t built only through the big decisions.

They’re quietly being built in the little squares on our calendars.

And the good news is that the next one is still yours to fill.

Make it great!
Michael Angier

Find out more…

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Don’t Leave Your Best Stories Behind
Some of the richest things we can pass on are better shared while we’re here.
You can know someone your whole life and still not know much about the life they’ve lived. You know their habits. Their favorite chair. The stories they tell at every family gathering—sometimes with improvements.

But do you know what once frightened them? What they almost did? What changed their mind about something they’d believed for thirty years?

We know people as Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa. It’s easy to forget they had whole lives before they became those people to us.

And someone you love probably knows only part of your story, too.

That’s been on my mind while writing Weekends with Appa. After thirteen nonfiction books, I’m exploring some of what matters most through a novel.

A grandfather and his fifteen-year-old grandson, Aaron, spend a series of weekends going through journals, photographs, and keepsakes.

The objects start the conversations. But soon, the conversations matter more than the objects.

They aren’t really sorting through possessions. They’re sorting through a life.

That got me thinking differently about inheritance.

We usually think of inheritance as something we leave behind. Money. Property. A watch someone may or may not want.

But what about the things that can’t be listed in a will?

The mistake that changed how we treated people. The risk we’re glad we took. The dream we set aside—and still think about. The person whose faith in us helped us find our own.

Those are things we can pass on, too.

And we don’t have to die to give them.

A will can say who gets the watch. It can’t explain why you kept it for fifty years.

A photograph can show who was there. It can’t tell what happened five minutes earlier—or why that day changed everything.

We may carefully preserve the possessions while leaving their meaning unspoken.

In Appa and Aaron’s conversations, the discovery goes both ways. One has lived longer. The other sees with fresh eyes. Sometimes Aaron’s question helps Appa understand something he thought he’d already figured out.

That’s part of the gift: having someone care enough to say, “Tell me more.”

These conversations can also change what we do next.

An old regret may encourage someone to take a chance. A story about starting over may help someone begin again. Remembering what once made us feel alive may remind us that it still could.

The life we’ve lived has something to offer the life still ahead—for both generations.

We don’t need a dramatic history to begin. Or an announcement that we’re discussing legacy. That might send everyone looking for an urgent errand.

Start with a photograph. An old tool. A handwritten recipe.

“How did you get this?”

“What were you like at my age?”

“What’s something about your life I’ve never thought to ask?”

Then give the answer a little room.

I hope Weekends with Appa encourages those conversations. Writing it has reminded me how much can remain undiscovered between people who love each other.

Someone has a story you’d like to hear. Someone else might be waiting to hear yours.

Ask a question. Or say, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

You don’t have to wait until you’re gone to give someone a piece of your life.

You might both enjoy it more while you’re here.

The book is in production now. Available soon. In the meantime, if you haven’t already availed yourself of our free navigational guide Get Clear on What Matters Most you can get yours now. It’s a practical guide for clarifying your core values and your plans for the next chapter. www.SuccessNet.org/wmm

Make it great!
Michael Angier

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David had built a good life, but he wasn't done yet.
See if you relate to this man's realizations in his second chapter of life.

There's still more!

Nothing Was Wrong. But Something Was Still Calling. He had built a good life. Then one quiet morning, he realized he wasn’t done.

Several friends have shared today's Best Life Digest article saying it really spoke to them. So, I thought I'd share it here, too. https://successnet.org/your-calendar-doesnt-lie/

Your calendar may be the most honest mirror you own.
See what you think!

The Calendar Doesn't Lie - SuccessNet Your calendar may be the most honest mirror you own. Most of us like to think we know what matters most. Family matters.Health matters.Faith matters.Peace matters.Purpose matters.Freedom matters. But then our calendar quietly raises its hand and says, “Excuse me, but may I offer some evidence?” ...

Get Clear on What You Truly Want based on your compelling core values. Download the Free Navigation Guide. www.SuccessNet.org/wmm

Most people spend too much time reacting to life—and too little time designing it.

Your future is not something that just happens.
It’s something you help create.

Clarity comes first.
Then confidence.
Then the Next Right Step.

Chart your next chapter with intention.
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