The end of a calendar year brings about a time of reflection. Organizations wrap up budgets and plans for the new year. Individuals spend time reflecting on what was (and wasn’t) accomplished in the year that is coming to a close. The song from Pete Seeger of the Byrds often comes to mind, “to everything there is a season.” (The song, recorded in the 60s, is adapted from the Book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible.)
For many, this time for reflection presents an opportunity to look ahead and think about what you can do to “make a difference” in the year to come.
A couple of years ago I wrote a blog post about an exercise which gets at the heart of this desire for reflection. The exercise challenges us to think about what is really important. It’s a good one to dust off every once in a while. Given the “season,” I share this with you again.
The pace of our lives seems to be escalating at an ever-increasing rate. We are busy at home and work; we are active in the community and support those causes important to us. Most people “want to make a difference in the world.” Yet we often feel like hamsters on the wheel—we’re busy but we’re not sure whether we accomplish a lot.
That’s where the 20-10 assignment comes in. It goes like this:
Suppose you woke up tomorrow and received two phone calls. The first phone call tells you that you have inherited $20 million, no strings attached. The second tells you that you have an incurable and terminal disease, and you have no more than 10 years to live. In each scenario, what would you do; what would you do differently; and, in particular, what would you stop doing?
Think through the 20-10 assignment for your own life. We often focus on what we should start doing; yet, great insights often come from the “stop doing” list.
