A Quick Exercise That Reminds You to Keep Engaging in the Things That Have Meaning to You

Life gets busy.

Demands, duties, and distractions compete for our attention. All too often, we’re pulled in multiple directions. If we’re not careful, we press ‘autopilot,’ and start missing out on living a rich and meaningful life.

Here’s a quick exercise that reminds you to keep engaging in the things that have meaning to you.

Grab a piece of paper.

Draw a vertical line near the left edge. Then an identical line near the right. Label the left one BIRTH, and the right one DEATH.

Draw a horizontal line in between them.

Make it long enough to connect the two vertical lines. Now draw a cross on the vertical line. Place it where your current age is now.

It may look something like this:

• Notice how much time has gone behind you, and how much time is before you.
• Notice how you’ve spent the time before the cross. And how you’ll spend the time you have left.
• Will you nibble just a little? Or dine at the feast before you?

Keep engaging in the things that have meaning for you.

Note: I learnt this exercise from Robyn D. Walser, Ph.D.

Dr. Walser is a master trainer in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and an expert in helping trauma survivors find renewed meaning.

She’s renowned for being both heart-forward and bold in her clinical work, as well as for her handling of a key ACT technique, creative hopelessness, which practitioners can see at work in multiple role plays in her on-demand trauma course.

In addition to leading ACT workshops all over the world, Dr. Walser is;

• A trauma therapist in her private business, TLConsultation Services;
• A clinical professor at the University of California, Berkeley; and
• A co-director of the Bay Area Trauma Recovery Clinic.

She is also the author and co-author of several influential ACT books, including:

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma-Related Problems;
• The Heart of ACT; and
• The ACT Workbook for Anger.

Dr Walser is my favourite ACT trainer. I recommend her workshops and books to all health professionals.