LIVE YOUR LIFE AS SUDDEN DEATH, SAYS BUYS

I am sure that this is not a new concept for many of us, in that this question has been asked of us and to some extent answered.

Perhaps though, the question should be asked and answered on a more regular basis. The question, when I asked it of myself today - made me stop in my tracks. Am I living my life as if today is the last day of my life - the answer is a resounding NO, and that is not good.

Looking back over just the last few days, it is plainly evident that I am just taking a stroll through my life, instead of living it to the full and I have just paused to kick my own backside!

Note to self - check on a regular basis to ensure that my life is being lived to the fullest extent! No excuses will be accepted!

Live your life as sudden Death, says Buys
Lauron Buys

22 May 2007 at 11h00

I woke up on Saturday morning, early, with Friday's headlines firmly on the forefront of my mind: "It's Final!" Well, I guess it is - and now we all know the result of Saturday's game. Yet, what struck me is how one prepares for something that is final.

The players had experienced thirteen matches in which, while each result was crucial, they had some leeway. They didn't expect to win all of the games. If they lost, well, they merely learnt from the game and moved on to prepare better for the next match. Then came the semi-final, and there would be no next week if they lost that game. But there was a next week and then, of course, was the final.

In the semis and the final, how did their mindsets change? Of course, the players couldn't let their emotions run away with them, like most of the fans. In many ways, the players had to approach the final two games in much the same way they had the first thirteen games - focused on their job and doing it to the best of their ability; having the faith that if everyone in the squad did the same thing, then the chance of their team winning was that much greater. Except there was more to it, wasn't there?

There was so much riding on these last two matches they had to do more than that - they had to focus on doing their jobs with a zero tolerance for mistakes, because mistakes would mean sudden death. A more heightened awareness was required but, paradoxically, if they changed their approach too much, failure was likely to follow. I wonder if it is coincidence that I bought an audiobook by a Tibetan Master last week out of interest and to learn more about their philosophies. Now I am a real rookie in this area, but it was interesting how the author dealt with the concept of death upfront.

We, in the West, tend to deal with it last, partly because that's where we believe it comes in our lives, but also because we approach life and death differently. What struck me specifically was that the author said we normally approach every day hoping that it is not our last. He suggested, however, that we approach each day as if it is our last for, as I understand it in my simple terms, with a complete acceptance of death we are able to approach life in a way more likely to be uncluttered with the interferences that we tend to pack into our minds on a daily basis.

Once again it seems as if they sort of play sudden death on a daily basis. They approach every day on the same sudden death basis as players in the Super 14 did during the last two weeks. Now I am not trying to get readers to change the way they think of life and death. What I would like us to do is to think of just how our lives would change if we lived as if we might die at any time (and weren't afraid of this eventuality).

Some of the well-known international speakers use this sometimes - they ask us to imagine we are given six months to live and to consider what we would do with those last six months. What would we change? I guess for most of us, almost everything would. What would we do differently with our loved ones? How would we approach our work? What goals would we set to achieve in our remaining days? How would we start to treat others? How would we start to treat ourselves? What would change for us spiritually? Would these changes make our lives more - or less - meaningful? And if we took up the Tibetan approach and condensed our six month vision into each day? Just what would we put into Life? What's stopping me? What's stopping you?

Lauron Buys is managing member of C-Business Coaching Solutions, who focus on developing leadership and performance in organisations using coaching. Previous articles are on www.cbiz.co.za