Is your life on track? How do you know?
It is often said that if you want to be successful at something that you have to measure it. You’ve got to evaluate where you are, identify your progress (or lack thereof) towards the ideal and make any necessary course corrections.
In terms of living life to the fullest, how do you measure if you are on track or just wasting time? That’s a good question and one I think worth exploring.
The Problem of Wasted Time
I’ve attended a couple of funerals lately and so I’m feeling a little philosophical. The end of life on this earth has always been a bit curious to me. I have all kinds of questions about it in my head, but I won’t bore you with all of them. However, I will indulge myself and ponder the problems of wasted time and how to measure one’s life.
What time in our life is wasted? Good question, right? After all, if we are truly wasting time, then we aren’t really living life to the fullest, are we?
Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. ~ Carl Sandberg
I suppose this quote really exposes the crux of the problem. We all only have a finite amount of time. The scarcity of time makes it valuable like a coin. We trade our time for something. Some result. Life asks, “What will it be for you?” Will you invest it or waste it?
In other words, at the end of your life, will all the living you did amount to anything? This is a difficult question, but certainly one worth stopping to ponder.
I believe you have to live with intention. If you don’t have specific intentions for your life, then someone else will. They’ll use you. I don’t mean in a really malicious way, but still you’ll just be a cog or a pawn in their strategy.
I’m asking myself right now, “What is my life about?” Am I really living with intention? I don’t think so. At least not in all areas of my life. I’m going to have to step it up so my coin is well spent.
The Resistance to a Life Well Spent
In order to move towards a life of greater intention, it is important to identify the attitudes we have that create resistance.
For example, I know one of my greatest problems is that I think I need way more rest and relaxation than I really do. This makes me lazy. I want to watch television or read a book or just lounge around in the evenings and on weekends.
I justify this by saying that I work hard during the day and just need some downtime at home to recover. This may have some truth to it, but mostly it is just an excuse.
All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that.
~ Baltasar Gracian
I’m simply not investing my time away from work intentionally in activities that have meaning and purpose. Instead, I’m hiding behind a lame excuse. I’m seeking comfort over growth and I know that comfort is not an option when you want to live a great life. This is resistance. It is rationalization. It is garbage thinking that I need to eliminate to stop wasting time.
It seems that whatever we feel the most resistance toward is exactly what we should be doing in order to live life to its absolute fullest. Where are you wasting time and what resistance is holding you back?
Measuring a Person’s Life
Have you ever had one of those days where you worked hard all day, but feel like you accomplished nothing? I have one every so often and I hate them. They feel so wasteful.
I certainly do not want to get to the end of my life and feel the same way. I sat in those funerals recently hearing people’s lives summed up in just a few short sentences. What will they say about me? Will they have anything to say? You can always tell when they don’t.
I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy. ~ Og Mandino
We need to take a time-out once in a while to take stock of where we are at. Otherwise, time will slip away and we can wake up one day with our whole life behind us. It sounds cliché, but it is true.
I was just reading about a guy that works with terminal cancer patients. He said that in almost every case, 60 seconds after they learn they are terminal, their priorities shift dramatically. They pursue dreams that have been on the shelf for years. They spend more time with family and really focus on being present. They are more loving and kind to everyone. And, they make sure the time they have left is spent with purpose.
How would your priorities shift if you knew you only had a very limited amount of time left to live? Unless you are in that situation, you might not be able to discard the life you have to pursue those things single-mindedly, but you can likely dedicate a lot more time to them. How would this change your quality of life?
I don’t know exactly how to measure another person’s life, but I think if we stop long enough to think about it, we know the measure of our own. Now is the time for course corrections. Now is the time to make a difference in your life. Later could be too late.
What may be done at any time will be done at no time.
~ Scottish Proverb
I understand that living life to the fullest is an ideal, but one I still feel is worth striving towards. The closer I get to the ideal, the better for me and everyone around me.
What will you do with your life?
Photo by aussiegall
