A few things have conspired to send me a message about how fast life goes by this last week.
Firstly, my niece turned 21! How did that happen the last time I remember she was demanding to go to ‘Build a Bear’ (other toy stores are available) and then she spent hours using her imagination to create adventures for her favorite bear.
Secondly, I listened to a podcast which mentioned the story of two friends. One older who had lived a full life. One very young, who had just started out. The remarkable point about this story; they both said the same thing on their death bed. “This life we have passes by so quickly”
Finally, at a meeting later in the week a new business associate was describing how a cancer diagnosis and subsequent operation reminded them about how important each day was. Whilst preparing to go into the operating theater they started to think about their life and how they might not come back from the operation. (It was very serious). What had they done with the life so far? Would their family be proud? Would they be remembered for the right reasons. Had they made a difference? They made a promise to themselves that if they recovered from the operation, they would make the rest of their life more meaningful. Having fully recovered, they now focus on making the most of the days they have, making a difference to all those around them. Having much deeper impact.
“Time in life is limited, spend life living your own values and goals, not someone else’s expectations.”
Time matters.
I don’t know about you but the older I get the quicker life seems to pass me by. You blink in Feb and the next thing you know you are in the summer holidays. Relaxing on the sunbed moves very quickly to putting up the Christmas tree. The endless merrier go round seems to be speeding up for me. What about you?
If you imagine you are holding a piece of string between your fingers. Your left hand is the day you were born and the right hand holds the day you die. Now imagine a piece of ribbon tied tightly to the position that represents you today. Where is the ribbon, more to the left or right?
How much time do you have left to make a difference?
I have lived for 51 years, which equates to 448,464 hours. The average UK person lives to around 82 years old, that’s 718,320 hours. That means I’m potentially over halfway to through my time. 62.4% to be precise. (If you want to work this out, the average hours in a year is 8,760.)
“A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life. Life goes by so fast.”
Fill your life with the right stuff
I’m not suggesting you cram loads of ‘stuff’ into your life. That’s not the way ‘to live’ every hour well. Let’s face it you’d be very stressed and knackered. I want to suggest we all use the available time wisely. Don’t just veg out, mindless scrolling through your social media or the Daily Mail side bar of shame when you think you have a spare hour. No. Go and do something useful with that hour instead. Do something that makes a memory for your family to remember for years to come. Create the business and team that leave a positive impact on the world after you are gone. Be a role model to our future generations. Inspire someone else to do something impactful. Make a difference to a stranger.
A shorter post this week to give you more time to reflect on your own life. What value do you bring to yourself, to others, to society at large with the time you have available?
Life passes by so quickly. So, let’s use every hour to great effect!
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