Things That Matter

“The thought-provoking insights and stories inside Things That Matter will help you live your one precious life with more presence, purpose, and peace.”—Rachel Macy Stafford, New York Times bestselling author of Hands Free Mama

“Things That Matter is a must-read to recenter yourself and filter out the distractions of the world.” —Chris Norton, motivational keynote speaker featured in 7 Yards

“Reminding us that chasing fame and fortune squanders our precious life energy, Joshua offers a compassionate guide to finding what really matters.” —Robert J. Waldinger, MD, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School

“Joshua shares his insight from the perspective of a caring friend who wants to help you move beyond the regret-and-avoidance cycle into purposeful living.”—Dawn Madsen, The Minimal Mom and author of Declutter Your Home in 15 Minutes a Day

“This delightful guide full of impactful and practical information will lead you through many of the roadblocks you may be facing.”—Ronald L. Banks, speaker, writer, and coach

“Things That Matter is required reading for anyone seeking practical guidance on how to confront life’s many distractions and—more importantly—how to overcome them.”—Christine Platt, author of The Afrominimalist’s Guide to Living with Less

“By removing the distractions outlined in this book, we are able to clear the clutter and create space to build life balance, personal growth, and purpose.”—Dave Braun and Troy Amdahl (The OolaGuys), cofounders of oolalife.com, and experts on work-life balance

“This book’s siren call—that we should aim to be generous, not wealthy, and get dirt under our fingernails by serving others—cements Joshua’s status as a much-needed voice of reason and kindness in the modern world.”—Helen Russell, bestselling author of How to Be Sad

“Every once in a while you read a book that can save you years (or decades) of angst, disappointment, and missed attempts at finding significance and contentment. This is one of those books, packed with wisdom and insight.”—Carey Nieuwhof, bestselling author, speaker, and podcast host

“Joshua’s work and this book are a beautiful combination of wisdom, warmth, and practical advice to help us live with intention and meaning. We have the power to make choices every day to do more of what truly matters—and Joshua offers us practical suggestions to do this.”—Nataly Kogan, bestselling author of The Awesome Human Project

“Ten years from now it won’t really matter what shoes you wore today, how your hair looked, or what brand of clothes you wore. What will matter is how you lived, how you loved, and what you learned along the way. And Things That Matter is a beautiful guide for getting there.”—Marc and Angel Chernoff, New York Times bestselling authors of Getting Back to Happy

Auteur

Joshua Becker

Texte du rabat

"Discover how to overcome eight common distractions to build a meaningful, no-regrets life in this practical guide from the bestselling author of The More of Less and The Minimalist Home"--

Résumé
#1 WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER • Discover practical steps you can take today to live a life focused on things that matter, from the bestselling author of The More of Less and The Minimalist Home.

“Things That Matter points the way to free ourselves from the distractions of everyday life so that we can build the lives we seek to create.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project

Everywhere around you are distractions: That text you respond to quickly, just to get it out of the way. The newest money-making side hustle to cross your mind. The evening spent organizing your overflowing kitchen cupboards.

Disruptions are the enemies of a life well lived—both the new distractions of our generation and timeless ones that have existed for centuries. They all add up to make you feel restless, tired, and unfulfilled. They’re keeping you from living with joy, from accomplishing the good that only you can do.

But that can change today.

In Things That Matter, Joshua Becker uses practical exercises, questions, insights from a nationwide survey, and success stories to give you the motivation you need to
 
• identify the pursuits that matter most to you
• align your dreams with your daily priorities
• recognize how money and possessions keep you from happiness
• become aware of how others’ opinions of you influence your choices
• embrace what you’re truly passionate about instead of planning that next escape
• figure out what to do with all those emails, notifications, and pings
• let go of past mistakes and debilitating habits
 
Things That Matter is a book about living well. It’s about overcoming the chatter of a world focused on all the wrong things. It’s about rethinking the common assumptions of today to find satisfaction and fulfillment tomorrow.
 
How do we get to the end of our lives with minimal regrets? We set aside lesser pursuits to seek lasting meaning. And we discover the joy of doing it every day.

Échantillon de lecture
**1

A Life with No Regrets

Beginning with a View to the End

We are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not ill-­supplied but wasteful of it. . . .

Life is long if you know how to use it.

—­Seneca, “On the Shortness of Life”

Bronnie Ware, an Australian nurse who spent several years caring for people during the last weeks of their lives, routinely asked her patients about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently if they could. Later she posted an article called “Regrets of the Dying” about her findings. In it, Ware wrote of the phenomenal clarity of vision that people gained at the end of their lives as well as the common themes that surfaced again and again during these conversations. This article has been shared millions of times online and was turned into a book in 2012.

It’s a fascinating premise, isn’t it? What do people most regret about their lives?

I’m not going to include the list here. Instead, I want to ask you: How badly do you want to know what’s on it? How tempted are you to google the article right now so you can see the top regrets that people have at the end of their lives? And more importantly, where does that desire to know the regrets of the dying come from? Isn’t the strength of your interest proof that you’re concerned that your life might be wasted?

(Now that I’ve got you thinking about that, if you still want to know what the list is, you can turn to the first endnote at the back of this book and find the list there.)

Why did a list about other people’s dying regrets go viral? It’s because we all know that’s going to be us nearing death someday and we don’t want to have regrets when we get there. And also, I believe, because we’re already starting to have regrets about our life choices.

For people in middle age, and even for people in young adulthood, it’s common to have nagging anxiety that we’re squandering our time and resources on things that are not important while not focusing enough on the things …