The question that changed everything

The question Sam put forward landed hard.

It’s not the first time he’s made me stop and rethink how I see the world—or myself. His app, Waking Up, has been the backbone of my meditation practice for almost five years, ever since I started making real changes in my life.

Sam has genuinely changed the way I think, so it feels fitting that it was he who gave me the gift of this question:

“What would I do now if I knew I only had one year left to live?”

It’s a question about attention—about what we choose to notice and care about in the brief time we get. And the reality is, we do an excellent job of ignoring the clock ticking down.

But imagine it were true. Just one year left.

You’d start cutting fast—trimming away the distractions, the obligations, the bullshit. And you’d double down on the things that matter: the people you love, the work that feels real, the quiet, beautiful moments we usually rush past.

Of course, we still have to live beyond a year—we need to plan, work, build—but as a thought experiment, it’s disarming. And strangely powerful.

For all the work I’ve done over the last five years, I still felt a disconnect—like I’d learned a lot, but hadn’t yet found a way to live it. This question changed that. It gave shape to everything I’d been exploring.

What I pay attention to defines who I am.

A few weeks after hearing Sam’s message, I found myself slumped on the sofa, bored. I was scrolling dating apps, half-watching TV, waiting for it to be late enough to go to bed. I wasn’t interested in any of it. I wasn’t in any of it.

And suddenly, Sam’s question dropped into my head:

Would I do this if I had one year left?

Absolutely not.

I was wasting time in the most tragic of ways.

That night, something shifted. I resolved to build a life I actually wanted to be present in. Not perfect—just intentional.

But I quickly realised I wasn’t totally sure what mattered to me. Not in a clear, practical sense. So I started journaling. I wrote about what brings richness into my life. What fills me up. What grounds me.

Over time, that led to a set of personal values—things I could come back to when I was drifting. Using Sam’s question as a kind of filter, I started shaping my days around what actually counted.

That’s how Mission 52 was conceived—not as a platform or a project, but as a quiet commitment to myself.

What if I could live in alignment with my values every week of the year?

What if I could look back on each week and feel I hadn’t wasted it?

Intuitively, I knew life would feel more grounded. And I knew I’d be able to relax more—take time off, be still—because I’d know I was still moving in the right direction.

For the past six months, I’ve been experimenting with that idea.

Testing it. Adjusting. Paying attention.

The good news? I’m still here. I’m writing. I’m sharing. I’m ready.

This space—Mission 52—is where I’ll journal the journey, and begin to offer the tools, reflections, and questions that have helped me along the way.

For now, I’m keeping things simple: one week at a time, one honest check-in at a time.

But I’ve found I need more than just intention—I need something to come back to. A compass. A way to remind myself what really matters when I’m drifting, doubting, or just tired.

That’s where the six pillars come in—my own set of values that help me stay grounded, connected, and alive to the present.

In the next post, I’ll share what they are, how they came to be, and why they’ve become the quiet foundation beneath this whole project.

Until then, I’ll leave you with the same question that keeps me honest:

If you only had one year left… how would you spend today?