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Did you live well today? It’s a reflective question my wife shared with me a while back and it stuck with me. It’s simple and straight to the point. It asks you to make an honest reflection on how the current day went. The hopeful answer is yes, I did live well today. What that looks like will be different for each of us.

Today matters. This is a phrase that might not be original but is one that I came up with on my own. It came to me when I was reflecting on a simple sentence to remind myself that today is important and that I needed to try and make it count. I had it as a prompt for my diary as a constant reminder to myself that there is only one today and it’s happening right now.

If I am able to answer the question “did I live well today” with a strong yes then I really did live up to my ideal that “today matters”.

My definition of living well may vary by the day but I think that it generally covers 3 categories: health, wealth, and self. If I can actively do something in each of those categories every day then chances are I lived well today.

Health is about body and mind. Both are equally important and directly correlated. Health is my backbone for wealth and self. I try and start my days with something for my body. Usually a workout of some kind like cycling or strength training. I also like to challenge my mind everyday by learning something new. Or I do some brain training games at minimum. Equally important to challenging the mind is caring for the mind. Checking in on my mental health and where I’m at during the day is just as important. If I’ve challenged and cared for my body and mind then I’ve lived well today.

Wealth is beyond money and the things we called our own. Sure, wealth includes both of those but that is at the lowest rung. Building real wealth is about giving. I try to remind myself of that often. It’s counterintuitive. In order to build wealth you must give and I work to give every day by contributing to society through my career and hobbies. I use my skills to create and do things of value. It’s that contribution through giving that creates wealth. Wealth is also in the form of good relationships with family and friends. Real wealth is about having the time and freedom to do what you want. If I’ve made a contribution, nurtured my relationships with family and friends, and worked towards real wealth then I’ve lived well today.

The self is sort of like the soul. It’s about doing things that fulfill me deeply. Sometimes there is a crossover here between the previous two categories and the self category. Living well for the self is taking time for myself. Everyone will have a different way of taking that time. It could be spending times with family and friends or playing a good tennis match. It could be walking in nature or just resting on a beach. What is important here is taking that time for the self and doing something that feels fulfilling. If I have done something for my self then I’ve lived well today.

Not every day can be lived well. It’s less about trying to maximizing the days spent living well and more about the constant journey of trying to live well. It’s about figuring out what living well means to you. And it all starts with a question.

Did you live well today?

I appreciate you.

M