Latest / The Checkpoint Podcast: Questions / Episode 38 | When was the last time you stopped and appreciated the life you're living?
Transcript
- Podcast episode 38: Hi HDX, Reboot Player One and host at the Checkpoint. And another video for my turning fifty lessons learnt and what'll take another fifty is another point that we all know. In fact, all of these points that I record videos on, everybody knows these. They're not secrets. They're they're they're just things that a lot of the times we don't actually bring them up because we we either act this way already or we don't. act on it at all. So for me, it's helpful because it reiterates some of the things that I've been thinking. It reinforces some of the things that I've been doing since I was a kid. And and I just like recording these videos. So today's point is to stop and smell the roses. Now this is something for me as I'm getting into my fifties was something that I've I've really come to practice the past five or so years. You know, when you when you get married, have kids, the kids grow up, have more kids, buy a house, do all those sorts of like adult things, time goes from a pretty monotone pace to just help a letter. You know, I always say to people, you know, before have kids, life can seem kind of boring. You know, it could be just you and your partner. and then you wake up and then you decide what to do. And sometimes it might just be stay at home and do nothing. Other times it might be hop in a car and drive into state. other times it might be like, hey, we've got a bit of cash, let's go overseas. you can make decisions as quickly as that. And sometimes, like I just said, you might not do anything. But when you have kids, when you start to have a family, you now have a visual representation of how fast time is. And even though time itself obviously doesn't change, 24 hours is still 24 hours. You'll look at your kid when they're born, things will happen. Your world gets turned upside down because it's the first time you've been a parent and you're really not taking anything in. You're just making sure that this newborn of yours, like nothing bad happens to them. So you're checking, you know, what they're eating, what they're doing, how they're playing. You you're looking at the development. You're not really taking into account what's happening. You're you're more doing, you know. And what happens is it goes from a day old. to a week, a month, a year, and next thing they're maybe two or three years old, and then another one's coming along. And then the same thing happens again. But now you're doubling it because you've got one that's quite young and one that's newborn. And and basically time just flies. And it doesn't stop. It doesn't stop until you actually make mental note to, as I said before. Stop and smell the roses. Because on top of having kids, you still have to go back to work. You're spending more money. Depending on the situation, you might not have the same amount of money coming in. You're then having to face a different family dynamic with your wife potentially needing, obviously needing more help, your parents, if they're still around, helping you out, your in-laws if they're helping as well. And then you're doing things like making sure that your kids are okay, taking them to doctors, and then at some point you're looking at schools. There are just so many different things that happen that you never really get that time to stop and smell the roses. And even me, I've got three kids. I've got one that's an adult. I've got one that's learning to drive, and I've got one that's still in high school. And I I don't find enough time to to stop and see what's happening with me. I probably do it more than other people, but I don't think I'm I'm doing as much. I do it frequently, but the detail in which I try and get into it, I'm not happy with. You know, th th there are just so many different aspects for me to for me personally anyway, to to stop and smell these roses. it's family life, but it's not just my immediate family, it's my parents, it's it's my siblings or sibling, it's in laws, it's friends as well, you know, it's it's myself, it's my health, it's my diet, it's it's my career, it's it's just so many things. And I can stop and smell one particular rose, and it could be say my family. But then all of these other roses that I should be smelling as well, i.e., say my house or coaching or IT work. I I I don't really give them the same amount of attention. I have to make sure that I stop and say, Okay, well, as a coach, how am I compared to six months ago, twelve months ago? But it's something that I'm more conscious of and I've been doing a little bit more of. Now, the way that I do it is I journal. So I will write about certain things. I will write about family stuff. I'll write about work stuff. And that allows me to smell those roses. I'll also do things which I may have mentioned before, but you know, I'll go for walks and I won't listen to anything. I'll I'll actually sit here. And I'll sit here. I'll actually go for a walk and just think about stuff. Think about how how my exercise is going, how my diet needs to be improved. when I go to to work on site, I will not put any music on. I'll do the same thing. I'll I'll just stop. And for me, that helps that you know in in doing this whole stopping and smelling of the roses, it actually It grounds me in a way that sometimes I might be jealous of someone or something or some situation and stopping and smelling my roses actually brings me back and goes, Well, you know what? You've got all of this. So what it what am I being such an idiot about? You know, it's it's make it makes me grateful for the things that I have. in this whole stopping and smelling of the roses. Because the roses, they smell all right. Hey. they smell really good. So I should do it more often. I advise people to do it as often as they can. Because a lot of the times you miss a lot of things in in just doing it. In just waking up, driving somewhere, driving to another spot, doing it all again. You know, it's It it's just it becomes a life of doing. And that's why, you know, books and people always say to be present, which is probably one of the most difficult things to do, because the second you get a time to breathe and think you're actually in the present, you're thinking about what happens next. Okay, so after this party, I have to go over here. After this sporting event, I have to go here. After this house is done, this driveway, I have to do that thing. So you're not really in the present. You're actually taking that present moment to plan something else. And yeah, and that's not stopping and smelling the roses, that's kind of pushing the roses aside and makes maybe planting more roses. So But that's something that I think is really important. And as I get older, I'm finding that I'm doing it more often. Only because it's, you know, one like one, I'm I'm super grateful for everything I have. And I really do enjoy getting into that headspace, that mindset of just being grateful for the things that I have. And it allows me to stop and smell those roses. And if I need work on things, which of course I need work on everything. It then allows me to go, okay, well, I've stopped. I've thought about this. What what needs to happen next? How do I need to improve? How do I need to change? And I'm able to do that rather than trying to do things on the fly, which I've I've been known to do in the past because there's just so much stuff going on. Family, there's work, there's health, there's friends, there's, you know, there there are just so many things that you make decisions. based off what's coming at you, you're basically playing the shot where it lands rather than actually planning beforehand. And look, touch wood, I've I've been doing okay in that department, but I know that if I actually had a bit of extra time to think about certain things, I would make better decisions. So yeah, so that's it. Another tip. Stop and smell the roses. if this helped you, like, comment, share, whatever it is that people do. And I'll see you on the next video. Thanks. Bye.