What Really Matters in Life ?

In this powerful video from Dr Marshall Goldsmith, he shares his research about what really matters in life.  Dr Goldsmith is one of the top ten Most Influential Management Thinkers in the world, and his study among top level successful executives reveal that the following, in their experience, is what matters in life  –

1. Health
2. Wealth
3. Positive relationships
4. Achievement
5. Happiness
6. Meaning

On the surface, perhaps this is not that surprising to you, but here are the big ‘ahas’ –

• Wealth matters only to a degree.  There is no correlation between happiness and wealth, especially as we progress beyond a middle class lifestyle.   Despite our constant desire to acquire more wealth, I think deep down, we all realise this.  After all, how many stories have we read in the media about super rich people who seem desperately unhappy ?

• Happiness and Meaning go together and we need both simultaneously.  Just chasing fun and enjoyment gets boring after awhile.  Neither should we be doing things that are meaningful but doesn’t make us happy.  Doing something we enjoy that we also find meaningful is what really matters and gives us happiness that is sustainable.

• Having a sense of achievement and feeling like what you do matters is important.  Yet, often, we don’t pay much attention to how we can make a difference in ways that are important to us.  When was the last time you gave this some thought ?  And what else can you do to help yourself continually grow ?

Short and sharp.  Well worth 3 minutes of your time to watch it.  And certainly leaves a lot of food for thought.

For those of you on LinkedIn, you can read Marshall Goldsmith’s original post on LinkedIn Pulse here.