I had a major loss in my family last month. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes a tragedy to make you stop and take a couple of steps back, to reset your thinking.

My uncle Rick was only 70. My dad’s oldest brother, he worked with my dad for 40+ years in the family business that my great-grandfather started. My uncle Rick was so joyful. He was so happy. I never saw him in a bad mood, even at work. Recently, he had heart problems but was released from the hospital and everyone thought that he was out of the woods. Just when we thought he was in the clear, he passed away in his sleep at home. My uncle and aunt who had been together since they were 15, were about to celebrate their 49th anniversary. He passed away two days before it. My dad is really introverted and he doesn’t share a lot of emotion. This was different. It was his best friend. They were together every day in the family business. Along with their youngest brother, Marty, they have successfully continued to run the business that their grandfather started. For decades they worked beside one another.

The loss of my uncle bluntly reminded me that life’s not forever. Most of us just live every day, forgetting that one day, it’s all just going to end.

It’s easy to take life for granted. We do the same things every day. We see the same people. We take people for granted. We may live authentically and think that we’re living a full life, but then tragedy happens, like losing someone unexpectedly, and it makes us stop to take a look at life… and ask the hard questions.

If your time is limited, is your “to do” list really worth that time or energy you’re spending on it? When you look back on your energy in a day, week or even a year, does it sum up how you want your life to be? Does that thing that has been nagging at you really matter?

My dad’s side of the family is Jewish and at my uncle’s funeral, the rabbi reminded us that when you die, all you really have is your legacy. You can’t take money to the grave. And in between my tears, I found what the rabbi had to say so inspiring. He really emphasized that while people talk about mourning the death, it’s really about celebrating the life that was lived, the legacy. My uncle Rick leaves a legacy of love. A true love for his wife of so many years, a deep love for his children who gave him grandchildren to continue his legacy. A legacy that everyone who loved him will continue to tell. His legacy to me, was all about how he made anyone he spoke to feel. Important and loved.

Experiencing loss reminds you to reflect on your own life. So that also made me think, what if we lived that way too, celebrating life while we’re living it? How could you be living every day with a love for living? Living with your legacy in mind.

So many people prioritize work over life. They miss that work/life balance. Many times work makes many people lose sight of priorities in life. People can waste too much of their energy on it because if money is not really what serves you at the end of your life, and legacy is, what else can you do to live each day fully? You can work so hard for money to be able to provide for yourself and your family, but if you don’t have the time to enjoy it with those who matter most, is it even worth it? Are you too busy running around after it that you actually miss the point? You can have the best paying job in the world but when you come home at the end of the day, did you enjoy it? Because if you didn’t, do something else. Do something that you’re excited about and that gives you ways and reasons to celebrate life daily. In order to live your best life you HAVE to do what you love.

You can prioritize living over working. You can decide what energy you want to represent in this life so you can choose to be that. Do something that makes you feel good, that energizes you. Usually what fills a person up isn’t money so it’s important to prioritize time and energy on those other things. Like when I dance around the living room with my daughter in the middle of the day, for the joy of it. I know I won’t have my kids home forever and they’re only going to be this age once. So I want more of those moments.

Most people lose the sense that they have control over their lives and energy and it’s easy to feel stuck in life’s routines. But if you take even just a second to think about it every day, you’ll see the opportunity for choice instead… You can look at any of it and just decisively say, I don’t want to be that person who only works. I’m going to make decisions that help me celebrate the joy of living today. And every day.

You get to make that choice. You can add celebrating life to the narrative going forward. Maybe it’s a picnic in the park. Maybe it’s a barbeque in your backyard. Your choice. Just don’t let life make you so busy that you forget to really live.

How will you live your legacy?