Life's way too short!
By Kerryn Vaughan
1st February 2021
Today is the 18th anniversary of my younger sister leaving this life. She was just 33, and at the time of her passing she left behind twin boys aged 7, and a little girl aged 4.
This article isn’t about being a victim or a ploy for sympathy. It’s a wake up call to all of us.
Why do we continue to live mediocre lives? Maybe we live a life that we believe to be successful, but that success is measured by the expectations or values of somebody else, or maybe we just don’t feel the buzz despite having all the material things surrounding us.
More so, why do some of us continue to zombie our way through a life that makes us unhappy?
I’m not posing these questions because I wonder if this is happening. I’m putting it out there, front and centre, because I KNOW it’s happening.
Don’t we realise how precious this life is? Every single day that passes, we can never have it back.
Have I struck a chord? Have I given you a pang in the heart? Are you thinking this is too heavy and you might just close the page? Don’t do that! Have the courage to sit it in for a few minutes and decide what matters to you, simply because you are worth it.
I would give anything to have my sister back, but no matter how hard I might wish for that it will never happen. The opportunity is gone.
We must decide what matters and pursue that with every last ounce of energy we can muster.
We can’t sit on the sidelines and play small. We can’t bash our way through each day making somebody else happy but suffering ourselves. We can’t keep saying “I wish I could…”. Just do that damn thing!
Yesterday I saw that a friend of mine passed away over the weekend. She was only in her 40’s. She was incredible and dedicated her entire life to speaking out against animal abuse. Because of her, thousands of cats and other animals have been spared cruel and torturous experimentation.
She was also the very person who helped catapult one of my songs to the world stage. She saw something in me that I couldn’t see, and still I didn’t truly pursue that dream with all I could have. She changed many lives, she was a hero, and she made her life count.
I also talked to another lady last week who lost her sister to cancer. She was reflecting on this because right now she is the same age her sister was when she was given her diagnosis.
Her reflection was, that if her sister had to go through losing her life, then why is she worrying about little things like fear of not putting her work out there. Especially when her work helps people to get their message out and make a better world.
A few weeks ago I interviewed Trav Bell, The Bucket List Guy. His motto is ‘Life’s too short!’. Too right it is Trav! Way too short! Trav inspires people to get some things on a bucket list and go do them!
What’s that thing you want to do?
What’s stopping you?
Speaking of what’s stopping you, in my many years of helping people to get off the bench in various ways, there are 5 things that always come up as roadblocks.
Self-doubt
Imposter Syndrome
Overwhelmed by the big picture
Not knowing where to start
Fear of: failure, rejection, criticism
I covered self doubt in last week’s blog, so in the coming weeks I’ll dig deeper into the others and give you some great tips to overcome them. But also consider that sometimes you just have to go around them.
Many people have also told me they don’t know what really lights them up. My answer to that? Just try a bunch of things. You’ll soon work out what makes you feel good and what doesn’t. And don’t wait to be perfect - there’s no such thing!
If you want to sing karaoke - do it!
If you want to play guitar - do it!
If you want to fly a drone - do it!
If you want to travel for 3 months - do it!
If you want to have a go at a side hustle - do it!
Start living your life the way you want to from this very moment. Right here, right now!
If you haven’t already, download my guide ‘6 steps to kickstarting your idea’.
And for God’s sake, have fun!
Kerryn Vaughan is the author of ‘Magnificent Kids!’ and ‘Get Off The Bench!’, founder of One Planet Classrooms, co-founder of Girls With Hammers, and host of Get Off The Bench Podcast.
Kerryn is also a DISC ADVANCED® accredited consultant.