(audio version available at the end of this post)

I am lucky.  I live near the U.S. Capitol and my office is located very close to the White House.

Sometimes when I have extra energy I walk this breathtaking three miles to work (or when the subway invariably breaks down!).  When I do, I also pass the Newseum, a fantastic museum dedicated to the history of reporting.

Along the facade of the museum there are dozens of international and (mostly) national newspapers featuring their daily front pages.

What is striking?

The story choices.  Just this week a paper out of New Jersey highlights the latest heat wave, while one from New Mexico confronts the controversial Confederate flag (see this post’s pic, and pardon my lack of photography skills).

Editors get to choose what we see and what we talk about.  All from their vantage point.

And you know what?  We have the same power over our own life headlines.  All from our own vantage point(s).

What do you do?

In DC, it seems quite common that the first question a new acquaintance asks is “What do you do?”  Everyone is looking for another person’s “headline”.

What if we started to answer this seemingly banal (and somewhat annoying) question differently?

If I were to challenge you to come up with three examples of what you love to do, say what makes your heart truly sing, what would your choices be?

I will start . . .

1. Taking care of my niece and nephew every chance I get.  There is so much wisdom in children.

2. Influencing my family, my friends, and my clients to laugh and love more.  I like to influence.

3. Keeping it simple. I believe “simplifying one’s life to extract its quintessence” is a virtuous pursuit.

Imagine if I discussed one of the above at my next cocktail party?

Well I tried it this past weekend at a co-ed baby shower (more fun than you would think!).  There someone asked me if I were “busy” these days.  They meant work busy.  But I did not answer that way.  “Yes,” I said, “This summer I am teaching my niece how to drive so I am traveling a lot to Boston.”  He was surprised but it led to a much more interesting conversation about family and love.

Your turn

Now it’s your turn, just three examples please . . .

You may decide to highlight the professionl or the personal or both.  Do not overthink here.

Sadly for many of us, we believe outside influences completely determine our headlines.  Or we are embarrassed that we have not started that business, lived in that foreign land, or loved that someone very deeply.  Perhaps sadly, our front page is riddled with regret.

And you know what, sometimes events can stymy us.  Their perceived randomness is disconcerting and scary.  I cannot, for example, control the date of my mother’s death or completely control how long an intimate relationship may last.

But I can choose to respond to those events in ways that honor my three headlines.  And the unintended consequence?  We spend more time living in the present and less time wallowing in a regretful past.

So become your life’s editor.  Start choosing your headlines in spite of outside influences.  You do so much more than what you do between 9am and 5pm every Monday through Friday.

And to make this post much more than just about inspiring words, this week set this goal for yourself:  Cultivate one or all of your three examples.  For me, I plan to visit my family this weekend for some more driver’s education sessions with my niece.

Let’s all get specific and then experiment our way to do more of what we actually love to do.

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If you have any questions about coaching please feel free to contact me at scott@kineticcoaching.co, and remember I always offer a complimentary 30-45 minute session to prospective clients to determine if we want to work together.