Mia, our family’s eight-pound Yorkie mixed-breed dog, has had some chronic leg problems. She typically gets around fine, but at times would move a little gingerly when getting out of her crate. However, about a week ago, she spotted the neighbor’s cat and bolted out the back door. When she got back to the house, she was limping and hesitating to put weight on her back left leg.

After a trip to the vet, and a prescription for doggy anti-inflammatory medicine, she was walking marginally better with just an intermittent limp. Then she discovered two squirrels in the front yard and again sprinted at top speed to chase the squirrels up the tree. As expected, she came back fully limping again.

Over the last couple of years, we have been routinely asking our clients to identify their most important values. Often, the typical responses are family, faith, friends, generosity, and honesty. It is easy to understand why these values regularly make the top of the list.

But do these values, which we identify as most important to us, really line up with what we value most? A wise person once taught me how to accurately identify what I value most. He said, “look at your checkbook and your calendar and that will provide a clear picture of what is really most important to you.” Where you spend your time and money reveals what is truly most important to you.

I am guessing if Mia could talk, she would tell me she values being able to walk and run without pain. However, the impulses of seeing a squirrel or cat distract her from her own well-being. What about you? Does what you say is most important really line up with what your checkbook and calendar reveal, or are you easily distracted by things that give you a quick burst of pleasure or happiness?

At Master’s, we believe you are going to be most fully alive when your checkbook and calendar are in complete alignment with who you were created to be. It is not necessarily an easy endeavor, but certainly worth pursuing day in, and day out.