You have far less time than you think you do.
Most of us have a terrible relationship with time, and fail to realise the inevitability of time ceasing to exist for us, and just how near that actually is. Don’t miss out on life you have less time than you think.
For this reason we say things like “one day I will start” , “Some day I’ll do that thing” or “When the time is right”.
But what we’re missing here is that there is no better time in life to do something than right now (apart from yesterday which is already gone)
Yet we procrastinate, day dream and wonder.
And one day we wake up and we’re older but we’re faced with less opportunity and more responsibilities and that thing we wanted to do has now become nothing but a distant memory of the past, it becomes the thing we should have done, could have done or wanted to do.
Wasting years in our lives
All that remains is regret and resentment towards the self. Tim JP Collins and I talked about anxiety and resentment towards the self on Episode 54 of the podcast.
I’m fortunate enough to have come to this realisation early on in my life and career.
In the first job I worked in, an older colleague turned to me one day and said “Eanna, whatever you do in life, don’t end up stuck in a job like this like I did”.
I felt his pain, his misery and regret. My heart ached for him and it became quite evident that there would be no greater pain in life than the pain of regret.
I recently sky dived and conquered a massive fear of mine. It was something I talked about doing for years and eventually just gave myself a deadline, I said now or never and made it my mission to have it done in 2022. Mission complete.
I had a conversation with someone recently about my sky dive, and they told me it was one thing in life they wish they did. But now found themselves in a position where it would be physically impossible. It left them with a deep regret and a curiosity that will never be quenched.
Don’t miss out on life – You have less time than you think
To put time into some perspective for you, consider this:
– You have 18 summers with your children before they’re responsible for themselves and can legally fly the nest.
– Average life expectancy is 82.66 years in Ireland, if your 60, you have (roughly) 22 Christmases / Birthdays left (hopefully more).
– You will spend roughly 1/3 of your life sleeping, so in order to achieve the things you want to do during waking hours, if you think you have 40 years left on this earth to try new things and go on adventures, you actually have 26.6 years left, and that’s if you’re fortunate enough to live into old age.
I’m not writing this to scare you, or maybe I am. I’m urging you don’t miss out on life you have less time than you think.
The time you have left
I just want you to think, and think deeply about the time you have left on this planet, and how it is you want to spend it.
I want to achieve and do many great things in this life, and have done a lot I am already content with. But the reason I have is because I put time and my transitory existence into perspective and take action that backs up my words.
And I want you to do the same.
Will you look back in 5 years from now and be content with how you’ve spent your time, or will you be filled with regret?
