What if you have only a thousand?

What if you only had one thousand tomorrows left to live? A thousand tomorrows (1000 days) equals 2.74 years, 24,000 hours, 1,440,000 minutes or 86,400,000 seconds. What if you only had a thousand tomorrows? Would it be enough?

Tomorrow is abstract – never spent and yet we bank on it, as though it’s a given until the phone rings and the doctor’s office say, “we need to see you today.”

At 29, I was told I had Kidney Cancer and that my time was limited. The doctor further stressed it was critical to get my affairs in order.

Until then I had lived my life passively dreaming of what I wanted to do. I made lists of things I dreamed of doing… but that day it all became clear. I may not have a thousand tomorrows. It looked bleak.

When the dust settled, there were five distinct things that mattered deeply to me and stood out as not having happened, and based on what I was hearing, they never would.

Here are they are in order of importance.

1. My children’s security – Who would raise them?
2. My children’s future – I wanted to see them graduate, fall in love, marry, be self-sufficient and happy.
3. My dream of running a marathon – For years I had dreamt of running a marathon.
4. My dream of travel to Australia and France – It always seemed like something for the future.
5. My desire to make my mark – I wanted my life to count for something.

These top five dreams became priority at that moment. I decided then and there I would do WHATEVER it took to make these happen with whatever time I had left.

That was in 1991. Here I am today in 2017 still living and functioning well with one kidney, and I have completed and checked all 5 items off my list.

But that day was heart stopping, life-altering and gut wrenching!

I was blessed to go into spontaneous remission after my surgery which allowed me to see all of the things that mattered to me come to fruition.

To me, it’s not about a bucket list – itemizing what I am to do before I die seems rather limited. Rather, it’s about a lifestyle that leaves nothing on the table – fully spent without regret, fear or guilt.

The belief we have about having more time is a fallacy, and creates a false sense of comfort.

What would be on your “WHAT MATTERS” list today if you only had a thousand tomorrows?

Although there is no guarantee you will have a thousand tomorrows, you do have today!