For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something – Steve Jobs

Dear Shawn – 

At 6am the alarm goes off and you head to the shower. The feeling of the water is a trigger for your brain to fully awaken from the restful night and to welcome the new day. Those few minutes in the shower also provide an opportunity to start thinking about key personal and professional priorities for the day cementing your commitment to the “chosen few”.

Stepping out of the shower, you walk over to the mirror for a quick shave. You wipe away the fog, and for a quick moment you see yourself for the first time and you take a quick moment to assess that face in front of you and reflect.

Are you excited about the day ahead?

For that brief moment, I can attest that the mirror does not lie and that face in front of you is a clear reflection of your state of mind. It’s a time to reflect on what you have accomplished, what lies ahead, the people you have built relationships with and how it all connects to your overall “purpose” in your life.

As you delve deeper into this reflection you will start to ask yourself another set of questions.

• Do you know what your critical priorities are for the day to make it a success?
• Are you clear on the connection between those priorities and the success of your organization?
• Do you feel that you have a good set of people around you at work that augment your skills and support your achievement?
• Does you direct manager care about you “beyond the job you do”?
• Does your family support the commitments and sacrifices that may be required for you to achieve your goals at work?
• Do you feel that your body and your mind are working efficiently to support your efforts?
• Are your life goals connected to your work making it clear that your success at work grants you success at home?

If the answer to any of these questions is not a yes, you ask yourself “why” until you can get to the source of the issue and then ask yourself how YOU can resolve it. You commit to resolving it no matter what.

You have used the morning routine to reflect and recharge yourself for the day ahead. This quick moment allows you to re-commit to your job, your career and your overall purpose allowing you forge ahead with full commitment.

I credit this line of thinking to one of my cherished coaches, David Gerard, who unfortunately passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. In the short time we worked together David was critical in helping me to better channel my thinking and better understand myself.