The metric I never chose
Lately, I've been noticing something about the way I move through my days.
Some days I feel driven to keep moving.
To answer.
To finish.
To stay ahead.
Other days I find myself thinking, writing, sitting in the garden, or simply letting an idea unfold.
Those are my favourite days.
Oddly...
they're also the days that often come with a touch of guilt.
That guilt has become interesting to me.
Instead of pushing it away, I've started asking it questions.
Where did it come from?
What is it trying to protect?
What if it isn't telling me the truth?
Almost every moment arrives with an unspoken question.
"What should I be doing right now?"
An email becomes another task.
A quiet afternoon becomes an opportunity to catch up.
Even a walk outside can quietly become another opportunity to be productive.
Without realizing it, I've been measuring my days by what I produce.
The strange part is...
I don't think I consciously chose that metric.
And once I noticed that, another question quietly appeared.
If I didn't choose it... can I choose differently now?
That question has stayed with me ever since.
Over the past few weeks I've been following a thread of curiosity, asking myself questions instead of looking for quick answers.
One question keeps returning.
What is the true metric of a well-lived day?
I don't have a final answer.
But I'm beginning to wonder if I've been asking the wrong question all along.
Maybe life isn't waiting on the other side of a finished to-do list.
Maybe it's already here.
In conversations.
In quiet moments.
Creating something meaningful.
Time in nature.
Lending a hand.
Or simply sitting with a cup of coffee without feeling like I should be doing something more productive.
Perhaps every moment doesn't need to earn its worth.
Perhaps its worth was never the problem.
Maybe the real question is whether I was present enough to notice it.
I don't know where this thread will lead.
But for now, I'm carrying a different question.
Instead of asking,
"What else can I get done today?"
I'm asking,
"What would make today feel truly lived?"
I wonder what your answer would be.
If this reflection stirred something in you, don't rush to answer it. Instead, carry the question with you for a few days.
What is the true metric of a well-lived day?
You may be surprised by what begins to emerge.
If you'd like someone to explore those questions with you, I'd be honoured to walk alongside you.
Or, if you'd simply like to continue the conversation, I'd love to hear your thoughts over on Instagram.