I recently watched a very moving TEDx Talk by Connie Johnson from Love Your Sister. She is a thirty seven year old mother of two, who is dying of breast cancer. Her message, although sad, is extremely powerful. She talks about how when people find out she is dying, they often share things they would want to do, if they found out they didn't have much time left. They talk about places they want to go, experiences they want to have, and the guilt free chocolate they would allow themselves to eat.

The reality for Connie, is that she simply doesn't have the time, energy or strength to do any of those. She is in and out of hospital, her body is too fragile for things like travel and bungee jumping and she can barely stomach toast, never mind chocolate. She asks the question, why do we wait until we are dying before we choose to live?

It's a good question, one that all of us will benefit from spending some time mulling over. Whether we have a bucket list or not, we all have things we want to do in and with our life. So why aren't we? What is holding us back?

There are a thousand answers to these questions and each of us has our own particular set of reasons or excuses for why we hold back. And it's not just in the big, adrenaline pumping experiences, some of us are simply not made for that. It's the calls we haven't made, the hug we didn’t give, the fear that stopped us from admitting our feelings or speaking up when we know we should have. It's the dreams we ignore and the goals we don't achieve.

The unavoidable truth is that we are all terminal. We don't know when and we don't know how, but at some point of our life, we all face death. But right now, right here, we are alive so get to know yourself. What is it, that is most important to you? Ask yourself. It is time to find out. Stretch out your comfort zone, try new things or do something differently. Say yes instead of no, say no when you usually say yes. Discover what lights up your smile and fills your heart with joy and then go and do more of that.

Now is the time to turn that bucket list into a to-do list. The real question is what are we waiting for?