What do I want to do before I die?

During work, when I am not on calls, I listen to YouTube videos in the background. Most of the time, I try to listen to something productive that will help me professionally, personally or even books (yes, you can listen to free audiobooks on Youtube). The other times I will watch/listen to guilty pleasures like locked up videos. I stumbled on this Ted Talk video today and it really got me thinking. The video is based on skipping small talk and using big talk. Basically, start having more meaningful conversations with people instead of the short small talk. Kalina Silverman made a video asking complete strangers really hard/deep questions. I started the video at the 9:10 mark (below) that begins her video with the strangers.

The first question she asked is "What do you want to do before you die?". A very thought-provoking question. I know this answer evolves the older you get. If you would have asked me this in my 20's, I would have said travel as much as I can. Since having kids, my answer has changed. Sure, I want to travel as much as possible, but my priorities and values have changed. My answer now is to see my two girls grow up. I want them to be healthy and happy. I want to be there fo all their important life moments. Some are not fortunate enough to be able to do this. Life is precious and time is even more so. My ultimate goal in life is to be there for my girls throughout their life, and grow old with my wife while watching them grow.

The next question she asked is "If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today?". The majority of the answers involved being with family. My answer would be exactly the same. I would want to spend my last day with family. That put everything in perspective for me. Life can be tough sometimes, and it is hard to focus on the big picture or what is important. Kids can be tough. Parenting is hard. It is important for me to think about questions like these every now and then to put everything back in perspective.

I know these questions can seem a little morbid or too deep, but it's important to take a step back and think about these. Tomorrow is not promised, and anything can happen. Appreciate and value the time you have today with your family. That's the message I took away from this video. Hope you enjoy the video as much as I did!