Map Your Decades
This month’s small step isn’t about paperwork, passwords, or prepping your digital afterlife. It’s about you. Specifically, the roadmap of your life—complete with winding curves, missed turns, scenic overlooks and the occasional pothole.
Why? Because as we get older, it’s easy to focus on what we didn’t do or wish we’d done differently. But what if we zoomed out and saw the full stretch of road we’ve covered? We might just discover that looking back may be the best way forward.
This can take 5 minutes or 50. No editing. No second-guessing. Just grab a pen and list out your decades:
20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s
(If you’re not there yet—go ahead and guess what might lie ahead!)
Under each one, jot down any crossroads you hit. You decide how to define them—moves, jobs, relationships, losses, births, wake-up calls, or total curveballs. Anything that felt like a turn in the road.
💡crossroads (noun)
an intersection of two or more roads
a point at which a crucial decision must be made that will have far-reaching consequences.
Now, ask yourself:
This reflection isn’t about nostalgia—it’s about perspective.
Seeing your story with clarity and compassion and using that perspective to support your future by:
Refocusing on what still matters going forward
Cultivating a more intentional year(s) ahead
Remembering someone worth reconnecting with
Highlighting life details you want included in your obituary (remember that file you’ve started back in September with that first line?)
Generating a list of people you want to be notified when you die
