WHAT JAY SHETTY TAUGHT ME ABOUT AUDITING MY LIFE
What you focus on is what you will become.
One of my favorite podcasts is On Purpose with Jay Shetty. If you don’t know Jay, you should. He’s challenging, insightful and very encouraging. Plus, his story of how he became a monk for several years is very fascinating.
Jay wrote a book recently titled, Think Like a Monk. It explores so many insightful ideas about everything you need to do to create your best life. It’s been a fantastic read. This morning, I felt like pulling out one of the key bits that really made me ask myself better questions.
Most of us have heard of an audit. Usually it has to do with our finances but in his book, Jay share an idea of doing a self audit of your time, media and money. He says this in regards to an audit on your life,
“No matter what you think your values are, your actions tell the real story.”
Jay gives a great example of how to check if your time and actions are in alignment with your personal goals. The idea goes like this.
Spend a week tracking how much time you devote to the following: family, friends, health and self. (Jay leaves out sleeping, eating and working.) At the end of the week, evaluate your time spent on the goals you have created. Do they match up? Is something else taking the top spot?
For me, family is a top priority. However, there are times when I notice watching TV is out pacing quality time with them. This is when I look back at my audit, evaluate and make the necessary changes to match my goals. It’s not an easy pill to swallow, but every time I do, our home is better because of it.
More recently, I’ve begun to ask this question of myself, ‘what am I learning this week?’
I’ve noticed in the past week, I was caught up with browsing the internet, watching TV or even spending more time with my family while neglecting ‘learning’. Because learning is so important to me and the growth of my life, I instantly began implementing changes. I quickly added time spent in my car with listening to podcasts. Then, I made a mental note of when I begin to browse the web to exchange that time with reading books.
After several days of doing this, I instantly felt proud of my decisions. They matched some of my goals which are, writing a book and developing a podcast. It gave me more confidence in my day and about my life.
I’ve mentioned many times how the Bible really is a road map to self help and here’s a passage from Galatians that speaks to our own self audit.
‘For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load.’ Galatians 6:3–5
Yes, I love how Jay Shetty explains a self audit but what about the apostle Paul in this passage? The guy nails when he says, “let each one examine his own work.”
As you march into your day today, is there any areas of your life which need a self examination? Do you watch Netflix too much? If your life me and want to learn, how are you learning this week or even today? What habits do you have in place for this? If you don’t have any, how come? Do these questions bother you or do you get self defensive if someone was to ask?
Here’s a few examples of how we spend our time and how we feel when we do. It’s a good exercise to determine if our values are lining up.
Does a 60 minute TV show feel like it flew by?
Does a 60 minute lunch with the family feel like it took forever?
Does your coffee habit ($4 per day / $1500 per year) seem necessary?
Does spending an extra $1.50 per day / $550 per year on healthy food seem not worth it?
Does 15 minutes of scrolling social media deemed as “Me Time?”
Does 15 minutes of mediation feel like you have “No Time?”
It’s all a matter of perspective isn’t it? Where your energy goes, your focus flows.
This may seem like not a big thing for you, but I’d really encourage you to take the time and reflect. Your life is so valuable. It’s worth millions of millions of dollars (more on this in another post), so why not put the necessary attention to maximizing it right?
You have the power of life and death in your mouth. Your heart is the engine to producing everything you want and dream. And yes, sometimes it feels like it’s not running properly or maybe too slow. But, as long as your breathing, as long as you have life in you, you can accomplish anything you want.
Keep learning, keep doing. I’m in this with you. a.
