I’ve found myself wondering about what is most important to me in life. Many times I have asked myself the question:

What if today is my last chance to leave a mark on the planet? Will I be satisfied with what I am leaving behind?

While recent circumstance may have accelerated this closer to the top of my priority list, it still serves us all well to stop and consider: what kind of a legacy are we leaving?

Today we live in an amazing age where we all have an incredible opportunity to touch lives. Never before have we been able to communicate and influence so many people at the same time.  Social media has given us a powerful vehicle to have a positive impact on the world.  What many could only dream of in the past, is now a daily reality for most of us…

How are you using these opportunities?  In what way can you reach out and share the gifts that you’ve been given to lift others?

If you have had challenges in your life lately, chances are that there is something that you have learned that you can pass along to help another in the same situation.  Our gifts usually come wrapped up in a challenge, so remember to open them up, learn from them and share the value that you gain by growing through them.

Today is your chance to leave a legacy… will you be satisfied if it is your last chance?

After several weeks of planning I ended up with a 3 page vision for every element of my life. I had a clear picture of what my physical health would look like, my business, my relationships, spirituality, my daily routines, etc.

There was a small problem though. Nearly everything on the list was focused on one of two things: doing or having.

“Life is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming.” ~ Matthew Arnold

Realizing that we are not what we have, nor what we do, I have made a shift in my resolutions this year. For 2010 my focus is on those things that will change my disposition (my natural inclination for action) in stead of just my discipline (the actions I force myself to take) or the outward results.

In moments of stress or weakness, all of our disciplines fall by the wayside and our true disposition is revealed. In order to make sure my personal development is built on a strong foundation that will endure the storms of life, my disposition-oriented resolutions for 2010 are as follows:

• I will ask the question every day: “How can I connect with God?”
• I will allow myself to be with “what is” without judgement or fear.
• I will take inspired steps every day. It’s not the size of the step that matters, just the size of the inspiration.
• I will surrender to each moment.
• I will see each moment – success or failure – as beneficial to my purpose and pass the lesson along to help others.
• I will cleanse my inner vessel.
• I will live each moment all in… holding nothing back.
• I will pour love into myself.
• I will be a conscious observer, watching myself with innocent curiosity.
• I will embrace each experience – good or bad – by breathing into it, feeling it, watching it, knowing it and releasing it.
• I will let go of who I thought I was, to discover and embrace who I truly am.

In challenging situations and circumstances I will ask myself the following questions:

• How can I bring more vulnerability to this moment?
• How can I bring more humility to this moment?
• How can I bring more generosity to this moment?
• How can I bring more compassion to this moment?
• How can I be of more service in this moment?
• How can I bring more willingness to this moment?
• How can I bring more honesty to this moment?

These goals may be a lot less measurable than the traditional resolutions, but I believe that the fruit will be even more visible, and of greater importance: more enduring. We can’t take anything with us but our natures, so what better investment of energy than to improve the only eternal element of our being?