How Not to Waste… Your Life
STACEY STAATERMAN MEETS A LOT OF PEOPLE at the top of their professional game – but who are also are in the pits. She’s a career strategist and coach who helps them answer the big questions: “Is there value in what I’m doing?” “Am I wasting my life in a career I don’t love?”
To these people, Staaterman sets a homework assignment. “I ask them to write on a single page what they want their life to be like: a paragraph each on home, family and friendships, work, hobbies, mind and body – anything that matters to them,” she says. “Notice that money is not on the list. Money is a tool, a means to an end.”
Look at the list and rank what matters most to you. Then, instead of trying to fit your priorities into your life, build your life around them. If time with your family is key, maybe the hustle isn’t worth it. If you need money now, overtime might be the right call. “You can take care of your situation now or wait until you’re nearly dead,” she says. Because life, indeed, is a terrible thing to waste.