Tom Brady doesn’t have time for that …

This is not a post about football. This is a post about time. Precious time.

As I was unwinding from my workday yesterday, I watched a few minutes of the pre-game show for Monday Night Football, a playoff game to determine who would play next week against Tom Brady and the defending NFL champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Before you non-football fans glaze over and move on, please hear me out.

By way of background, I think about Brady a lot. I think about him particularly as I move more deeply into the second half of my own life, and still aspire to contribute my unique gifts at a high level. 

He is, by 4 years, the oldest man in professional football. By some measures, this season he was the best quarterback in football, a game that considers his position the most critical. A man of limited physical gifts compared to some of his peers at that position, he nevertheless has achieved more success than any of those peers ever will, by a mile. So, I pay attention to his approach.

Back to last night. One of the announcers commented that Brady would be watching last night’s game closely, as he’d be facing the winner next week. Another of the announcers retorted “oh, no. Tom Brady won’t be watching this game. He doesn’t have time for that.” Instead, he elaborated, he’d be watching the condensed version of only that portion of it that was relevant to his preparation for next Sunday’s game. 

Let that sink in: Tom Brady doesn’t have three hours to watch the very opponent he’ll face next weekend.

This is not to say he’ll be working out and watching game film non-stop between now and then. He’ll be spending time with his family, sleeping well, relaxing, taking care of his mind, body, and spirit in diverse ways. 

So, I’ve been thinking, how would my life be different if I focused my precious, limited time with this Tom Brady level of clarity on the domains of my life that truly matter to me? Which activities would fall away? Which would remain? 

Of course, the starting point is to clarify what matters to me. Here are  mine, at least this morning:

• Exquisite care of my body through food, exercise, relaxation, and sleep

• Caring for my primary relationships

• Loving and inspired tending to the service part of my life (involvement in my businesses and communities)

• Nurturing my creative spark, particularly in music and poetry

• Tending to my ongoing study of the subjects that matter to me (music, writing, caring for my businesses, health, and world events)

• Deepening my relationship with the Divine.

So, this morning I am asking myself: what would today look like if I brought Tom Brady’s level of focused commitment to these realms of my life. What would I do, and, just as importantly, what would I not do?

About what would commentators say, 

“Oh, Goddard doesn’t have time for that. He’s too focused on more important matters.”

So, the questions boil down to these:

• What really matters?

• Who would I get to be if I aligned my life with what really matters?