On a day to day basis it is far easier to tally the “x’s” we get to mark off of a task list then it is to measure the impact of the minutes we’ve spent with a loved one. Completing a task let’s us put an “x” next to an item on our to-do list which our brain is then able to tally up at the end of the day to tell us “I accomplished this much today”, whereas, the time spent reading a book to a small child, or watching a silly YouTube video with a teenager, or listening to a spouse tell us about something they worked on – well none of those things let us put an “x” next to anything on our to-do lists so our brains don’t count those as accomplishments in our nightly tally and we begin to see them as being unimportant because their impact isn’t able to be measured day to day.

It often takes years and years before we realize how important it is not to let those opportunities to bond with a loved one pass us by, and by the time we do it is filled with regret that we hadn’t been wise enough to take full advantage of every moment while we had the chance. And even though day to day those moments spent don’t give us x’s to tally up as a daily accomplishment, the impact of those moments will result in giving us life’s greatest accomplishment of all…the love of a family…

The quantity of things we accomplish in life isn’t nearly as important as the quality of the relationships we’ve built with our loved ones.

~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )