A LIFE WORTH LIVING REQUIRES LIVING

Derek Hagen
1 day ago
3 min read

Sketch: Two adult stick figures tell a child "Sorry kid, we're trying to figure out how to get more family time"; illustrates planning as a substitute for living

❝The future is no place to place your better days.❞ -DMB, "Cry Freedom"

Knowing what you want is important. It's not enough.

KNOWING IS ONLY THE FIRST STEP

Most of us spend years figuring out what we actually want. Not the inherited path, not what we're supposed to want, but what we'd choose if we were paying attention.

That clarity matters.

But it's only the beginning.

Sketch: Venn diagram with "Knowing" and "Doing" circles; stick figure dot in Knowing circle labeled "Only the First Step"

Knowing what you want out of life is worthless if you don't do anything about it.

Sketch: Venn diagram with "Knowing" and "Doing" circles; stick figure standing in Knowing circle saying "I know what I want"

PLANNING AS PROCRASTINATION

Author Mark Manson has written that learning more is a smart person's favorite form of procrastination. Doing the work is hard. So we hide behind research, planning, and preparation instead.

We tell ourselves we need to get it right before we start. There are no stakes when you're just planning. Once you actually do something, you might make a mistake. You might learn something uncomfortable about yourself.

So the planning continues.

Hand-drawn bold word "LEARNING" with a stick figure peeking out from behind it; illustrates hiding behind planning instead of acting

LIVING YOUR VALUES

Planning and learning aren't the problem. They're just not sufficient. You can't live in alignment with your values if you don't know what they are.

Once you know, it helps to understand how to express them.

Hand-drawn diagram with "Value" at center, four arrows pointing outward to four "Behavior" labels; shows how a value expresses through actions

Some values are easier to express than others. But knowing what matters to you points toward the kinds of activities and behaviors that will actually feel meaningful.

Hand-drawn diagram with "Education" at center, arrows pointing to Mastermind Groups, Reading, Online Courses, and Lectures

This questionnaire is an instrument that taps into ten valued domains of living. It assesses the perceived importance of each of these ten life domains and the degree to which you are living in accordance with this perceived importance.

FINDING VALUE-RICH ACTIVITIES

Some activities are a jackpot: one thing that satisfies several values at once. These are value-rich behaviors.

Hand-drawn diagram with "Activity" at center, four arrows pointing outward to four "Value" labels; illustrates value-rich activities serving multiple values

Time works like money... there's never enough of it. Finding activities that satisfy multiple values makes it easier to actually live in alignment rather than just plan to.

Hand-drawn diagram with "Hiking" at center, arrows pointing to Nature, Fitness, Friendship, and Adventure; example of a value-rich activity

GO MAKE MEMORIES

Once you've mapped what you want to do, you still have to go do it.

The memories you'll look back on someday don't exist yet. They won't exist unless you make them.

Venn diagram with "Knowing" and "Doing" circles; filled black overlap labeled "Focus Here"; shows where intention meets action

Understanding what matters and mapping it to what you want to do is necessary. It's not sufficient. You have to take the next step.

Venn diagram with "Knowing" and "Doing" circles; stick figure standing in overlap, saying "I'm building a life worth living"

Your values will shift over time. That's fine; adjust accordingly. What doesn't change is the requirement to actually show up for the life you say you want.

As the song goes: this life is more than just a read-through.

You get one life; live intentionally.

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