If you have been reading or attending seminars about personal development for a while, you have probably heard the following question: If you had only six months to live, what would you do differently?

The purpose of this question is to help you reflect on your true priorities when faced with the ominous perspective of only six months to live. It is common to hear people respond that they would make peace with a family member, spend more time with their children, take an unforgettable vacation, develop a better relationship with God, or take better care of their health to see if they can squeeze a few more days out of life.

While it is true this question encourages introspection and helps some people re-evaluate their priorities, the sad thing is that after they finish reading the book or leaving the seminar where they heard it, they return to their old self because, unless they really have been diagnosed with a terminal illness, they do not live with the pressure of only having 60 days remaining to live.

Let’s flip this question around, shall we? What if instead of you only having 60 days, you actually were to live another 20, 30, 40 or 50 more years … in Danger Mode? For example, living with the stress of knowing that what you earn is not enough to pay the rent and you are almost being evicted, or your business is failing … feeling like the world is crumbling around you.

You might say, “But, Edward, I am not in such a bad shape!” Then, what about in living in Survival Mode where what you earn is just enough to pay the rent and to eat, but not enough to enjoy the things you like most. “Edward, that does not apply to me, either,” you say.

Ok, then what about living in what I call Comfortably Stuck? You make enough money to pay your mortgage, to provide a good education to your children, and you have great vacations, but you got too comfortable. You know you can be more, do more, and accomplish more … but you got stuck. You know very well that your current lifestyle can not be sustained for long unless you keep growing, learning and thriving.

There was a time in my life when I was living a vicious cycle. I was going from Danger Mode to Survival Mode every month, trying to accomplish the last week what I did not manage to do the first three weeks of the month! Eventually, I became Comfortably Stuck, as if I were a thermostat with a “low standard set temperature” that, when reached, came down again. Something inside of me wanted to flow more, to achieve more, and to contribute more, but I ended up with self-sabotage. Do you know someone like that?

Many years ago, I was diagnosed with Guillain Barré, not necessarily a terminal illness, but a syndrome that could have paralyzed me for a few years. I was lucky. A set of circumstances helped me leave the hospital in less than two months, albeit having to receive therapy for a while because I had lost about 75% of the strength in my arms and fists and I couldn’t walk well.

During those days, I admit that I never had to answer the “What if I had only six months to live?” question, but after a full recovery, I did ask myself, “What if I continue in ‘Comfy Mode’ for another 20, 30, 40 or 50 years?” That’s when things started to take a new direction in my life.

Where do you find yourself right now? Are you in Danger Mode, Survival Mode, Comfortably Stuck, or Progressing? If you are anything but in your path to progressing, believe me, you don’t have to wait for a wake-up call, like unfortunately I did, to start creating the best version of yourself. After all, not only might you never receive that call, but what if you live another 50 years not being who you know you could become?

As Michelangelo said, “Most people fail, not because their aim is high and miss it, but because it’s too low and reach it.”

Live today as the last day of your life, but project your decisions and actions as if you were to live for an eternity … the world awaits you.

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Edward A. Rodriguez is a coach, co-author and transformational trainer. He is founder and CEO of Better Graphics (a promotional products company) and In-Powerment! Center (an international training company for productivity and personal development). He is an NLP, HNLP, and neuro-strategy certified trainer. He has many certifications as a life and executive coach, serving clients in different countries. Edward has developed internationally known transformational programs and has co-authored books like La Biblia de la Motivación (The Bible About Motivation) and Empowered, which was co-written with other authors such as Wayne W. Dyer, John Assaraf (from the movie The Secret), Brian Tracy, etc. For more information, call 1-888-2-IN-POWER or write to info@EdwardRodriguez.com.