Many of us live our lives as if there will always be plenty of time: time to go back to school, time to pick up a passion that was put aside for family or career, time to pursue a dream that’s nagged us since we were young. “Later,” we we tell ourselves, “when the kids are grown, when my debts are paid off, when I have more… time.” It’s perfectly understandable why it happens; an endless stream of day to day tasks and responsibilities distract us from one simple truth – time has an expiration date, so the time to live is now.
Steve Jobs once said, “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.”
This begs the question: If you suddenly knew there would be no tomorrow, what would matter to you today? Would the endless “to do” list matter? The mortgage? A spotless house?
What would really matter to you? You might say it’s doing work that makes a difference or expressing yourself somehow. For others, it might be amassing knowledge, seeing the world, or experiencing its beauty or cultures. Still others might say it’s the simplicity of being in the moment, mending a broken relationship, spending more time with their loved ones or realizing their passions in life.
Whatever matters to you, don’t wait. Start taking steps to make it happen, today. Because however much time you have left on this earth, it flies way too fast to squander it. Whether you dream of adventure, deeper relationships, growth or fulfillment, there’s no better time than the present to remember that a life fully experienced is a life truly lived.
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