What Have You Done Today to Prove You Love Your Life?
What Have You Done Today to Prove You Love Your Life?
It’s a simple question, but most people don’t answer it properly.
Not because they can’t, but because when they stop and think about it, the answer’s often a bit thin. And I’m not talking about holidays or big wins or the occasional day where everything clicks. I mean today. What have you actually done today that shows you’re enjoying this thing called life and not just getting through it?
For a long time, I didn’t really think about it like that. It was head down, crack on, next thing, next deal, next target. And that works… until it doesn’t. Because you can build a life that looks full from the outside and still feel a bit flat inside it. Not broken, not dramatic, just disconnected and unfulfilled.
That’s usually the point where you either ignore it or you start paying attention.
For me, it’s been about doing more of the things that pull me out of the noise. Being underwater with a tank on my back is probably the best example. Sitting on the seabed, blowing bubbles, chatting nonsense to fish. It sounds ridiculous, but that’s total heaven for me. Nothing else gets in there. No emails, no noise, just space to breathe.
Golf does a similar thing in a different way. I’m not about to turn professional, far from it, but I’m out there, I’m competing, I’m laughing, and I’m around people I actually enjoy being with. That counts for more than the scorecard most days.
Travel helps as well. Not just the destination, but the movement, the change of scene, the different conversations. Even the chaos at times. It shakes you out of routine and reminds you there’s more going on than whatever’s in your diary that week.
And then there’s time with my family, properly there, not half-listening while checking something else on your phone. This is probably the one that matters most, yet we are all guilty of giving it lip service and taking it for granted!
None of this is groundbreaking, but it is deliberate, and that’s the difference.
You can see it in other people as well. The ones who genuinely enjoy their lives, not in a loud way, just quietly and consistently. They’ve got a different feel about them. More energy, more clarity, easier to be around. Not because life’s perfect, but because they’re not running on empty all the time.
My mate David Hyner talks about surrounding yourself with clever people so you get cleverer just by osmosis, just by being in their presence. It’s the same with this. Spend time around people who are switched on to their own lives and lift you. We all know spending too long around people who are drained and just getting through pulls you the other way. That’s not judgement, it’s just reality.
Where this really shows up is as a leader. People pick up on it far quicker than you think. They know if you’re running on fumes, if you’ve lost your edge, if you’re just grinding through. And they also know when you’re engaged, thinking clearly, actually enjoying what you’re building. You don’t need to perform it, but if there’s nothing in your life that’s fuelling you, it leaks into everything else.
Now, this isn’t about pretending everything’s great, because it isn’t. Some days are rubbish. Things don’t land, people let you down, life throws things at you that you don’t get to spin into something positive. That’s reality, and there’s no point dressing it up.
But where you do have control is everything around that. The environment you put yourself in, the people you spend time with, the opportunities you take or ignore. That’s the bit most people drift on without realising.
So it comes back to the question.
What have you done today that proves you love your life?
Not something massive, just something real. Because this isn’t built in big gestures, it’s built in small decisions that stack up over time. And if the honest answer is “not much”, that’s fine. That’s not failure, it’s just awareness.
I still get it wrong plenty. Days where it’s all work and no space, where I don’t create anything outside of what’s already in the diary. The difference now is I notice it quicker and I adjust.
You don’t need to overhaul everything. You just need to stop drifting through it and take control of the bits you can.
Because the people who genuinely enjoy their lives aren’t lucky.
They’re just a bit more deliberate about how they live them.
And it shows.
NHS – Five steps to mental wellbeing
https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/self-help/guides-tools-and-activities/five-steps-to-mental-wellbeing/
Greater Good Science Center (UC Berkeley) – The Science of Happiness and Well-Being
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/happiness/definition
Mind UK – Wellbeing: Practical tips for everyday living
https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/wellbeing/
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