I was talking to my daughter the other day about life goals.   I said for me there is really only one goal in life – To use the events of each day to become a better person.

It sounds kind of lofty and without definition so I broke it down as follows:

• Every day I am involved in events where I am required to make decisions
• My decisions affect who I become
• I often make decisions without thinking about them first
• I strive to take time every day to look back at my decisions and ask if I am proud of them
• If not (wish is always the case), I make a mental note of how I wished I had acted or decided
• Another opportunity will arise to decide differently – It is an opportunity to recreate myself.

Some days I do this better than others.  I know one thing for sure – On the days I do, I’m a happier person.

Timothy Velner is a husband, father, attorney and author living in Minneapolis. You can follow his daily blog – a series of discussions between the worry-self and the present-self at – thespiritualgym.me