I love looking to both the etymology and definition of a word when contemplating its meaning in my life. Here is the definition of "measure" from the Oxford Dictionary:
(v) 1. to ascertain the size, amount, or degree of (something) by using an instrument or device marked in standard units. 2. to assess the importance, effect, or value of (something).
(n) 1. a plan or course of action taken to achieve a particular purpose. 2. a standard unit used to express the size, amount, or degree of something.
Unlike so many other words I have studied, the definition of "measure" has remained relatively true to its Latin root of "mete." Thank goodness, because the definition alone, when applied in today's context of COVID-19 becomes very complex.
When the days all seem to run together, how do we measure the passage of time? When we cannot gather to mark major life milestones - graduations, birthdays, anniversaries...and worst of all, deaths - how do we memorialize those occasions? When we are away from the office for extended periods of time, how do we demonstrate our progress on projects?
In this period of isolation, it is time to turn inward. It is time to take the time, leverage this time, to look back at where we have been, take stock of where we are now, and strategically start to move towards a brighter tomorrow.
Where are you in life right now?
Is it where you thought you'd be?
More importantly, is it where you want to be?
What can you do today to more closely align your actions, your activities, with the path you'd like to be on?
How will you know that you are making progress?
Are there different ways you might measure your success?
Think on these great questions for a bit...and join us for our meeting this month, where Pueyen Lee will talk us through how she took stock of her life and slowly made huge changes in the way she approached everyday living. How? Through what she has aptly named the "Me Project."