Today is my incredible wife and my 2-year wedding anniversary and I feel like the luckiest person in the world. It hasn’t started off as planned, however. Our nine month old daughter woke up throughout the night last night crying, and was fussy this morning. It turned out she had a stiff neck and couldn’t turn her head to one side. After a nap and some care, she seems to be doing better, but moments like this take over your state of mind and remind you what’s important. Suddenly that work I wanted to do over the weekend is completely deprioritized.

How would you spend your scarce supply of free time if you had to care for a sick family member full time? Or if you had a terminal illness?

The challenge with the latter question is balancing reality – of course none of us would want to do chores or mundane work if we thought we had a matter of months, weeks, or days left to live, but this type of work and maintenance is necessary to sustain our life over long periods of time.

Still, these questions can be of great benefit in helping us sharpen our focus and clarify to ourselves what is really urgent and important. The things that are non-negotiable. That would absolutely be present in our lives even with far greater constraints on our time. The relationships, the dedication, the passions and interests.

Live with a sense of urgency and remember to step back for perspective every once in a while. Live for and with those important to you. Step out of yourself for a bigger life. Don’t wait for tragedy to become the best version of yourself and to be there for your loved ones.