Let’s think about this statement: “It’s your life, own it.” Upon hearing it, your immediate reaction might be, “Of course, it’s my life. I do own it.” And while you can probably name at least one individual that ought to “get” a life, you certainly own yours.
Or do you?
Like most people, life has no doubt brought you those moments when it seemed like things were out of control. You faced too many competing demands. You felt obligated in some uncomfortable way. You felt overwhelmed. Or you possibly felt trapped and in need of a change for the better. Come to think of it, there may have been those times when you secretly admitted to yourself, “Man, I need to get a life.” Yeah, me too.
Master of Youniverse
So, let’s consider, what does it mean to own your life?
My dictionary (Merriam-Webster Online) says that to own means “to have or hold as property” or “to have power or mastery over.” Ironically, as an example, it provides the following statement: “wanted to own his own life.” Hmmm, seems even lexicographers
recognize this as a challenge. At least one thing is clear, that to own you need to have “mastery over.” Yet, to say you need to gain mastery over your life is somehow not very helpful. It’s not specific enough to be very good “how to” advice – and if you want to exercise mastery in owning your life, you’re going to need a few more specifics.
So to dig into this a bit more, I looked up the meaning of life. Yes, the dictionary has several answers to that question. The one I think is most relevant here points out that life is “the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual.” I would add emotional and spiritual experiences as well. At least, though, we’re moving in the direction of more specificity.
Broadly speaking, then, your life breaks out into four areas of experience. While it is fair to say you own your experiences, we need to make a distinction between the experiences you have already had and the ones you can create. The experiences you’ve had provide memories that have varying degrees of fondness attached. These past experiences also bring, well, experience! That is, knowledge, skills, and attitudes that resulted from observations, conversations, and participation in events and activities. In a very real way, your past experiences in all areas of our life have had a very big impact in shaping who you are, and reflect the choices you’ve made to get you to where you are today. Of course, who you are includes other elements, such as your strengths and weaknesses, your likes and dislikes, your interests, and your values.
Your life experiences fill your life portfolio with assets you can draw on in exercising ownership over your whole life. Interestingly, many people don’t take the time to explore what’s in their life portfolios and have no grasp of their assets – and therefore an incomplete picture of who they are.
So, when was that last time you reviewed the assets in your life portfolio?
Contact me if you’re ready to begin examining the assets in your life portfolio.
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