These days I find myself drawn more and more to Medium. I wake up, inevitably stumble across something like this, start reflecting on my life during the last several years, and end up asking myself if the company I’ve kept, the time I’ve spent on Things, and the pursuits and professional relationships I’ve followed have had consistent value and quality. Sometimes the answer is yes and sometimes it’s no, depending on which side of the bed I’ve woken.
Time is a funny little thing. It’s the most precious gift we have as humans and yet we so often squander it for foolish reasons. We spend it trying to impress others, we waste it fretting over past actions and future uncertainties, and we let it deceive us into thinking that we will always have it. It is the single most important thing that exists in our lives and yet we take it for granted until it’s too late.
I have friends who have been waiting to leave their jobs for the last five years or leave town and go somewhere else for the last ten, and I want so very badly for them to pull the trigger and become the change they want to see in their lives. Perfect timing is a myth, especially when it comes to the big stuff. Like coming out, or breaking up with someone you love, or telling your boss you no longer believe in his team, or asking for something when it scares you so very much to ask for it. There’s never a good time for any of it. It’s all hard and inconvenient.
The last several months I have felt an incredible sense of urgency towards stillness; to find a seat and sit in it. What I mean is that I’ve regained a deeper appreciation for how little time we have before we die, and adjusted my priorities accordingly. Family matters. Being in love matters. Waking up and working on something that I believe in matters. Resolving interpersonal issues swiftly and judiciously matters. Sleeping matters.
Status, reputation, being liked by influential people, material wealth, being feared or revered, new clothing, big housing, shiny toys, envy. None of these things matter, at all, and they’re terrible time investments.
Find out what you’re most scared about regretting later on and do that Thing now. We haven’t got a moment to spare.
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